Russian Premier League Players at U-20 World Cup

Two Premier League players are in Egypt for the U-20 World Cup. While it’s a bit unfortunate that the number is slow low (allowing for Russia not qualifying for the tournament), these two strikers are worth following as the tournament plays out over the next three weeks.

Davron Mirzayev, F, Rubin, Uzbekistan

Mirzayev is a 20 year old who, having joined Rubin from Uzbek club Pakhtakor Taskent two years ago, has yet to make a league appearance. He has five goals in 11 matched for Rubin’s youth team after scoring 4 last season. Despite making the finals of lat year’s AFC U-19 Championships, Uzbekistan is not expected to make it out of a group that also has England, Uruguay, and Ghana.

Uzbekistan’s first match is Saturday against Ghana.

Tomas Necid, F, CSKA, Czech Republic

Tomas Necid was called up for the Czech senior team’s last rounds of World Cup Qualifying, where he scored a goal. He is a bit beyond the U-20 level at this point in his career, being one of the few strikers in this tournament that is challenging for a starting spot at a major club. The Czech Republic is not expected to do well, being drawn into a group with Brazil, Australia, and Costa Rica, but Necid is one of the players in this tournament that could take over matches.

Czech Republic start their group play on Sunday against Australia.