John van ’t Schip: The national team’s door is open to everyone. Any player can get their chance

12 August 2026, 12:00

Kazakhstan national team head coach John van ’t Schip attended the UEFA Champions League qualifying match between Kairat and Bulgarian side Levski. In an interview with the Kazakhstan Football Federation’s press service, Van ’t Schip spoke about getting acquainted with Kazakhstani football, the criteria for assessing potential national team players, and the team’s objectives ahead of the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches.

– How are you getting to know Kazakhstani football?

– First and foremost, by watching matches. I speak a lot with members of the coaching staff and people at the Federation, watch plenty of footage of individual players and, of course, attend matches in person.

– What criteria do you use when assessing players?

– First of all, a player needs to have the qualities that, in my opinion, are required to play for the national team. There are many players who have already made a significant number of appearances for Kazakhstan, and we will certainly continue to follow them closely.

At the same time, we also want to see whether there are other players who have the ability to prove themselves and earn an opportunity with the national team. The national team’s door is open to everyone. Any player can get their chance.

Another important criterion is fitness. We are going to play four matches in a very short period of time, so the players need to be physically ready either to play the full 90 minutes or to contribute effectively for part of a match.

The balance of the squad is also important. Ideally, we want to have two players available for every position.

– Which matches have you already attended, and which ones are you planning to watch?

– We have already attended the match between Zhetysu and Ordabasy, and the following day we watched Astana against Okzhetpes. Today, I watched Kairat against Levski. Later this week, I plan to attend Tobol against Partizan, and this coming weekend, Caspiy against Elimai.

– What are the national team’s immediate objectives?

– Our main objective is to perform well in the Nations League. We want the Kazakhstan national team to play good football, collect points and finish as high as possible.

Of course, we must always aim for the best possible result, and that means first place. That has to be our goal. Whether we achieve it will be decided on the pitch, but we believe in the quality of our team and that we have the ability to compete for that objective.