He was called up to the Russia national football team in August 2015 for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Sweden and against Liechtenstein. But he didn’t play. He eventually made his debut for the national team on August 31, 2016, at the age of 27, in a friendly against Turkey.
The Russia 2018 World Cup was only 11minutes old when its first trivia came in. “Who scored the first goal at the 2018 World Cup”? That is a question that will be asked for years to come.
The name is confusing. Some will answer Yury Gazinsky. Others will say Yuri Gazinskiy. It won’t matter too much to the not-so-young man, though; he will simply be happy with being recognised with an indelible honour.
So, how much do you know about the Russian footballer?
Full name
Yury Aleksandrovich Gazinsky. The ‘football name’, though, is Yuri.
Date of birth
July 20, 1989 (age 28)
Place of birth
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai, Soviet Union
Height
1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position
Defensive midfield
Current club
FC Krasnodar
Jersey number
8
Club history
Gazinsky signed for FC Krasnodar on a three-year contract in May 2013. He has been there ever since.
International debut
He was called up to the Russia national football team in August 2015 for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Sweden and against Liechtenstein. But he didn’t play. He eventually made his debut for the national team on August 31, 2016, at the age of 27, in a friendly against Turkey.
Debut goal
He couldn’t have picked a more auspicious moment to score his debut goal for Russia: the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted by his country, against Saudi Arabia.