The goalkeeper of Lokomotiv Anton Mitryushkin was summoned to the Russian national team for the June fees. He will replace the Zenit goalkeeper Evgeny Latvonka, who was injured and will not be able to participate in friendly matches. This was reported by the press service of the RFU.

For Mitryushkin, this is the first challenge to the main team of the country. The goalkeeper, whom many remember as one of the most promising Russian players of their generation, can debut for the Russian team at 29 – at the June fees, the Valery Karpin team will hold two friendly matches – against Nigeria and Belarus.

“I thought it would come to do this earlier, but everyone has its own path”

The football player himself does not hide joy. In an interview with the press service of Lokomotiv, he admitted that the news of the call caught him by surprise, but became a great honor for him.

Anton Mitryushkin / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

– The call of the goalkeepers of the Russian national team Vitaly Kafanov told me about the call. He called and said that I was preparing for the training camp. Of course, I was very happy. I went through youth and youth teams, always dreamed of playing for the main team of the country. I thought it would come to do this earlier, but everyone has its own path. In a great mood I wait for the fees and I really hope that I will have a chance to enter the field! -The club’s press service quotes Mitryushkin.

Hero of the Youth Championship of Europe-2013

Mitryushkin last represented Russia at the international level in 2017 – then he played for the youth team in the qualifying cycle of the European Championship. Before that, he went through the entire system of youth teams and was considered one of the main talents of the country in his position.

The main achievements of Mitryushkin are associated with youthful tournaments. In 2013, he was the captain of the Russian team among players no over 17 years old, who sensationally won the European Championship. The team was trained by Dmitry Khomukha, and Mitryushkin played all five matches and missed only one goal. In the final against Italy, he became a real hero: in a penalty series, he retorted three blows and brought Russia a title. According to the results of the tournament, he was recognized as the best player in Euro 2013.

Anton Mitryushkin / Photo: © Laurence Griffiths / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Two years later, in 2015, Mitryushkin became the silver medalist of the European Youth Championship as part of the Russian national team U19.

Why did he leave for Europe from Spartak

Mitryushkina’s career was not easy: he left early to Europe (“Sion”, “Fortune” from Dusseldorf, Dresden Dynamo), since he did not receive proper confidence from the Spartak coaching staff (only four matches for the main team), where he was the third goalkeeper after Artem Ribrov and Sergey Pesyyakov. Abroad, Anton fought injuries for several years and did not always have constant game practice. In addition, in six years in Europe, Mitryushkin has not won anything.

Anton returned to Russia in the summer of 2022, becoming the player “Himok” as a free agent. For two years, in the team near Moscow, Mitryushkin never became the first number, having held 26 matches (eight – “to zero”) and missing 45 goals.

The second youth in Lokomotiv

But in Lokomotiv, where Mitryushkin was in the summer of 2024, his career received a new impulse. In the outgoing season, he reliably played for the railway workers and earned a chance to prove himself in the national team. Anton played 18 matches in the season, 10 of which fell on the games of the Russian Cup (there is such a rotation in many RPL teams). Mitryushkin failed to conduct more matches – Ilya Lantratov shows himself well, who took Lokomotiv three times this season with a captain’s bandage in the Russian championship.

Anton Mitryushkin / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Everything changed for Mitryushkin for the better after the Lokomotiv’s exit match with “Wings of the Soviets” at the end of March, where Lantratov received five on their own. The next seven meetings of the championship at the gates of the railway workers were played by the Pupil of Spartak and missed six goals. During this time, Lokomotiv lost only Rubin.

The debut in the Russian national team at 29 is a non -standard situation, but, as Anton himself says: “Everyone has their own path.” Perhaps his moment has come right now.