Russian goalkeeper Timofey Tolstenev has made his official senior debut for Gazalkent at the age of 17 after the Uzbek club received FIFA approval to register him. Gazalkent have also told Eurasia Football they are considering the possibility of Uzbek citizenship for the goalkeeper, with an eye on a potential future with the national team.
Tolstenev started for Gazalkent on October 12 in their Uzbekistan Pro League away match against Jayhun. The Tashkent Region side won 2-1, with the game marking the Russian goalkeeper’s first official appearance at senior level.
Born on November 17, 2008, Tolstenev was still 17 at the time of his debut. FIFA rules generally prohibit international transfers of players under the age of 18, except in specific circumstances, and the first registration of a foreign minor also requires separate approval.
Gazalkent told Eurasia Football that Tolstenev’s family moved to Uzbekistan around a year ago. He had been training with the team throughout that period but was unable to play in official matches until the necessary FIFA clearance was obtained.
“He had been with the team for a year and trained with us, but we could not register him. We received FIFA approval for his registration and gave him his debut straight away,” a Gazalkent representative told EF.
Tolstenev had already featured in unofficial matches. In February, he started a friendly against Zenit-2 during a training camp in Turkey, with the match ending 1-1.
His debut also produced an unusual statistical quirk. At the time of publication, Tolstenev did not have a profile on Transfermarkt. As a result, the match page for Jayhun vs Gazalkent effectively showed the visitors’ starting XI without a goalkeeper, while the other positions were filled.
Gazalkent now plan to assess Tolstenev over the coming matches and are already discussing his longer-term future in Uzbekistan.
“The next games will be a test for him. If everything goes well, then we need to get him an Uzbek passport, because we do not have goalkeepers like him,” the club told Eurasia Football.
Gazalkent were founded in 1993 and revived at the end of 2025 after a long absence. The club have competed in the Uzbekistan Pro League since the start of the 2026 season and have also looked to recruit young players from Russia.
Tolstenev is not the only Russian at the club. Ivan Korshunov, 24, came through the Zenit St Petersburg academy and has played for Zenit-2 and several other Russian teams. Forward Vladislav Nabatov, 18, was born in Yaroslavl and previously developed in Shinnik’s system.
Nabatov has been in strong form in October, scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Pakhtakor-2 before opening the scoring against Jayhun.