Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Russian goalkeeper Timofey Tolstenev could potentially become eligible to play for Uzbekistan’s national football team. His club, Gazalkent, for which the 17-year-old recently made his debut in the Pro League, is considering obtaining Uzbek citizenship for him, Sports.uz reports, citing Eurasia Football.
Tolstenev made his first appearance in an official senior football match on 12 October. He started in an away game against Jayhun, in which Gazalkent won 2–1.
The club plans to assess the young goalkeeper’s performances in upcoming matches. If he impresses, the management will consider the possibility of obtaining an Uzbek passport for him. The team hopes that he could eventually be considered a candidate for the national squad.
However, obtaining citizenship alone does not guarantee eligibility to represent Uzbekistan. To play in official international matches, a footballer must meet FIFA’s eligibility rules governing sporting nationality.
Depending on the circumstances, these rules take into account citizenship and the criteria establishing a player’s connection to a country, including birth, ancestry or residence.
Whether Tolstenev can ultimately represent Uzbekistan will depend on his individual circumstances and the applicable regulations.
Tolstenev was born on 17 November 2008. His family moved to Uzbekistan approximately a year ago. Before joining Gazalkent, he trained at Moscow’s Chertanovo Academy and later played for the youth teams of FSM and Spartak Moscow and Spartak Kostroma.
Before making his official debut, the goalkeeper trained with Gazalkent and took part in friendly matches. In February, during a training camp in Türkiye, he started for the team in a match against Zenit-2, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Registering the underage foreign player required special permission from FIFA. After receiving approval, Gazalkent added Tolstenev to its squad and gave him the opportunity to play in an official match.
Gazalkent was founded in 1993 and resumed operations in late 2025 after a lengthy hiatus. The team has competed in Uzbekistan’s Pro League since the 2026 season.
In addition to Tolstenev, the squad includes Russian players Ivan Korshunov and Vladislav Nabatov.
