Denis Mamonov Steps Down as Kazakhstan U21 Head Coach

“In Tashkent, we played two friendly matches against Uzbekistan U-21 team. When this opportunity came up, we decided to go for two games, as our players need more international experience. We also wanted to test the depth of our squad and give playing time to every footballer.

Unfortunately, we lost both matches. After the painful defeat in Andorra, the coaching staff felt that game had affected the players a lot.

In the first match against Uzbekistan, the guys knew they needed to get a positive result to make up for the loss to Andorra and please the fans. But unfortunately, we conceded a goal at the very end and lost 0–1.

In the second game, we tried to put pressure on the opponent from the very first minutes and even scored an early goal. However, we eventually lost because we couldn’t convert the chances we created throughout the match.

After the second match, in the locker room, I told the team that I was stepping down as the senior coach of Kazakhstan U-21 team. I thanked the players for their professionalism, wished them success in the upcoming European Championship qualifiers, and encouraged them to turn the situation around as soon as possible.”