Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Ras Al Khaimah: Uzbekistan striker Igor Sergeev emerged as the top scorer of the AFC U-19 Championship 2012 with nobody in Saturday's final between Iraq and Korea Republic able to catch the promising Pakhtakor player's seven goals.
Sergeev scored in all five games he appeared in, scoring doubles against Vietnam and Jordan and single strikes against defending champions DPR Korea, Syria and Korea Republic to finish two goals clear of tournament MVP Mohannad Abdulraheem, Australia's Corey Gameiro and Mahmoud Al Mawas of Syria.
Sergeev's prolific run ended with the consolation goal in the 3-1 defeat by eventual champions Korea Republic in the semi-final but not surprising his impressive returns have drawn plaudits from Uzbekistan's captain Vladimir Kozak and head coach Akhmadjan Musaev.
"I have known Igor since we were kids and we played together in Pakhtakor juniors and his eye for goal and work rate is tremendous," Kozak told www.the-afc.com.
"Igor always tells me that he wants to be a great striker and play for the Uzbek national team and I don't see any reason why he can't do it," he added.
Echoing those sentiments Musaev added:
"I must say he is a great goal scorer and he has a bright future if he keeps his feet on the ground and works hard. If he can do this and continue scoring goals then he could go on to be one of the top players in Uzbekistan."