Asilbek Aliev is a 15-year-old striker who plays for Olimpik Tashkent and the Uzbekistan U-17 National Team. Aliev won the Golden Boot at the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
Aliev is about 5’10″ (1.77 m) but is very muscular for a player his age. A 15-year-old player winning the Golden Boot at a U-17 tournament is the sort of thing that gets a hobbyist scout excited, but it was clear from watching the games that, while Aliev does have some good qualities, there was quite a bit of luck involved in his golden boot triumph. Aliev is not a striker who is going to spend all of his time in the box. He likes to drop off and connect with teammates, sometimes to his detriment. I observed him all the way back next to Uzbekistan’s defensive midfielder while the ball was wide in the final third at one point. Still, Aliev is a reasonable passer. He is very good at playing one-touch passes into the space between a centre-back and fullback for wingers to run on to. But his effectiveness in deeper areas is limited by his reluctance to take players on. Aliev’s first touch and control are reasonable enough, but he did not look confident when he had to take players on 1v1. This lack of dribbling ability also limits his ability to get shots off. Speaking of shots, Aliev’s shot selection is not good. A lot of his shots are well outside the box. He did pull off an impressive long-range free kick goal, but overall, his shot selection is very wasteful. When Aliev does get into the box, his off-the-ball movement is quite strong. He is not particularly quick, but he is very good at making runs off the shoulder of the last defender and getting in behind the opposition defence. His movement in the box is also decent, he just is not there nearly enough. His muscular build makes him an aerial threat despite not being particularly tall, and he is quite acrobatic, so he could develop into a more dangerous poacher.
Aliev also played a little bit as a right-winger in this tournament. In the final, where Uzbekistan were reduced to 9 players, he played almost as a right-back. He did not stand out as a particularly skilled defender, but he did his defensive work with enthusiasm.
Aliev is probably not quite as exciting as his goal tally at this tournament would suggest. But, he still had a lot of positive contributions playing against older players, so I feel positively about his potential. I don’t think he has the speed or the skill to play in the top-5 leagues, but I could see him playing for a strong Eastern European team like Ludogorets or Red Star (or similar levels elsewhere in the world).
Target Scouting 