Kazakhstan’s FC Kairat Stars Join Belarus Squad for Crucial Scotland Clash in World Cup Qualifiers

Two players from Kazakhstan's FC Kairat Almaty, Aleksandr Martynovich and Valeriy Gromyko, have been called up to represent Belarus in their upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Scotland in Glasgow.

Belarus faces a challenging schedule in October with two key away fixtures: against Denmark at ZTE Arena on October 9 and against Scotland at Hampden Park on October 12, The Caspian Post informs via Kazakh media.

The team currently occupies the last place in their group following a 2-0 home loss to Scotland and a heavy 5-1 defeat in Greece.

Martynovich and Gromyko are familiar with the Scottish environment, having played recently at Celtic Park with FC Kairat during the Champions League qualifiers in August, where they secured a draw against the local side Celtic.

In addition to these two, FC Kairat has several other players called up to Kazakhstan’s national teams. Damir Kassabulat and Dastan Satpaev have been named to the senior squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, although Satpaev is currently undergoing medical evaluation for a minor injury. For the youth team competing in the 2027 European U21 qualifiers, Aleksandr Mrynskiy, Ramazan Bagdat, and Olzhas Baybek received call-ups.

It was earlier reported that FC Kairat’s forward Dastan Satpaev will miss Kazakhstan’s upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Liechtenstein and North Macedonia due to injury.