Kazakhstan's under-21 football team lost 3:4 away to Ireland U21 in a Euro 2027 qualifying match. Vladimir Cheburin's side scored three times in Cork but conceded the decisive goal from a penalty late in the game. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Litosh opens the scoring after 12 seconds

The Kazakhs opened the scoring almost immediately after the starting whistle. After just 12 seconds, Artyom Litosh received the ball from a Yan Trufanov lay-off, beat two opponents and struck into the upper part of the goal – 0:1.

Ireland respond with two goals in mid-first half

Ireland responded with two goals in the middle of the first half. In the 21st minute, Alex Murphy scored after a corner, and in the 29th minute Jamie Mullins put the hosts ahead.

Kazakhstan level before the break

Before the break, the Kazakhstan team restored parity. In the 38th minute, Litosh played a pass to Ramazan Karimov, who struck from outside the penalty area and sent the ball into the far corner – 2:2.

Second half: Curtis, Askarov, Lonergan

Early in the second half, the Irish went ahead again: in the 48th minute, Sam Curtis scored after a corner delivery. However, just four minutes later, our team's captain Sultan Askarov equalised – 3:3.

The 86th-minute penalty

The outcome of the match was decided in the 86th minute. Kazakhstan's goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza collided with Tommy Lonergan while contesting the ball, after which the referee awarded a penalty. Lonergan himself converted the 11-metre kick and brought Ireland victory – 4:3. In added time, Litosh received a second yellow card, and the visitors finished the match a man down.

A second defeat for Kazakhstan

For Kazakhstan, this was a second defeat in a matter of days. On 25 September, Cheburin's charges lost 2:4 to England U21. In that match, Litosh also opened the scoring at the very start, and Kazakhstan's second goal was scored by Saif Popov.

The standings after eight matches

After eight matches, Kazakhstan remains on four points in last, sixth place in Group D. The team will play its final qualifying match on 6 October away to Moldova.