Russia’s Cherchesov leaves post of Kazakh national football team’s head coach

Head Coach of Kazakhstan’s national football team Stanislav Cherchesov has vacated his post, TASS reported citing the statement of the Kazakhstan Football Federation (KFF).

According to the statement, the contract with the Russian specialist has been terminated based on the mutual consent of both parties.

Former head coach of the Russian national football team Stanislav Cherchesov was appointed to take charge of the national squad of Kazakhstan in early June last year.

"The Kazakhstan Football Federation thanks Stanislav Cherchesov and his staff for the work they have done and wishes them further success in their careers," the KFF statement reads.

Led by Cherchesov, the national team of Kazakhstan played six matches in the UEFA Nations League finishing the first match with the draw and losing the rest without scoring a single goal.

Team Kazakhstan is now set to play qualifying matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The team shares its qualifying group with the national squads from Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia and Lichtenstein.

Cherchesov, 61, took the reins of the national football squad in the summer of 2016, signing a contract with the RFU (the Russian Football Union) to work as the head coach of the team until August 2018.

In July 2018, the RFU extended Cherchesov’s contract for two more years with the option of prolonging it for another two-year term. The decision of the Russian governing football body to maintain its partnership with Cherchesov followed the national team’s successful home performance during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Led by Cherchesov, the Russian national football team managed to reach the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup advancing with a win over the Spanish team in the Round of 16 and then losing in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals to Croatia, who eventually went on to the final of the world championship in Russia.

However, during the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup in June 2021, the Russian national team, led by Cherchesov, failed to clear the group stage of the tournament, which was postponed for one year due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus. The Russian football team wrapped up its European championship tour finishing in the cellar of Group B with three points after three matches.

In late December 2021, Cherchesov signed a contract to manage Hungary’s Ferencvaros FC. Under Cherchesov’s lead, the Hungarian football club won the country championships twice and clinched also the National Cup.

In the 2022/2023 season, Hungary’s Ferencvaros FC qualified for the first time in 47 years to the play-off round of European tournaments and, having reached the Round of Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League lost to Germany’s Bayer FC on the aggregate (0-2; 0-2).