Talgat Baisufinov: “The FIFA Series is an important stage of preparation for the Nations League.”
“First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone on the Nauryz holiday. Our first tournament of 2026 is coming up. The team has now gathered in full, and yesterday we held our first full training session. Tomorrow, we will face Namibia.
Overall, our opponents in this tournament will be Namibia and the Comoros. Both teams represent the African continent. This will be valuable experience for us, as we have not often faced such opponents at the international level. We have some information about their physical condition, athleticism, and dribbling ability, but we have not yet seen them play at full strength.
Today, we analyzed the Comoros national team and structured our training session accordingly. Of course, our main goal is to win. However, our broader objective is preparation for the Nations League. This tournament is the first step in that process.
We have been following the opening rounds of the Kazakhstan Premier League and are monitoring a number of players. More friendly matches are scheduled for June, when we will review the squad again and make more concrete decisions. In September, we will play four official matches. At the moment, we are carefully analyzing the squad. One of the issues we previously identified was a lack of balance within the team, so it is important for us to build two equally competitive lineups going forward.
One of our key tasks is to find the right balance between experienced and young players. When the FIFA Series tournament was confirmed, we adjusted the schedule together with the federation. In February, during club training camps in Turkey, we met with coaches and players to communicate our objectives. Due to time constraints, part of the preparation was carried out remotely. Tactical instructions were explained in advance, and we continue this work now. The players understand the requirements, and we place special emphasis on video analysis and theoretical sessions during training.
Naturally, results come first for us. We came to this tournament aiming to win. We want to make our fans happy and build confidence. At the same time, we must not forget that this is an important stage in preparing for the Nations League. Our current priority is to restore team chemistry and improve understanding on the pitch. Nevertheless, our main goal is to win both matches.
As for Oralkhan Omirtaev and Damir Marat, these decisions were made based on specific positional needs. For the centre-forward role, we considered Ramazan Karimov and Oralkhan Omirtaev. Our choice was based on their match practice and performances, and we ultimately selected Omirtaev. Damir Marat was called up due to the injury of Adilet Kenesbek.
Regarding Dastan Satpayev and the possibility of involving him in youth or U21 teams, we had similar experience last year. We included him in the U21 squad for one match so that he could take part in an official game instead of a friendly. We carefully analyzed that match and also studied the experience of other national teams. Based on this, we understand that Satpayev is already showing a very high level at a young age. Playing for the senior national team gives him greater opportunities for development, while moving him to youth teams could affect him psychologically. Therefore, at this stage, we are not considering that option. He is viewed exclusively as a player for the Kazakhstan senior national team.
During the training camp in Turkey, we watched two FC Akhmat games and spoke with Stanislav Cherchesov. Everything is fine with Galymzhan Kenzhebek — he’s in great spirits, eager to play and ready for action.”
