Ihar Bryšteĺ

Ihar Uladzimiravich Bryshtel (; ; born 13 July 1987) is a Belarusian beach soccer and occasional association football player who plays as a forward for the Belarus national team.

Career Bryshtel made his debut for Belarus soon after the national team was formed, against the Netherlands at the third stage of the 2009 Euro Beach Soccer League. Over the next ten years, he collected over 100 caps for Belarus and established a reputation as one of Europe's most prolific strikers, scooping multiple top scorer and best player awards in international competitions; he was also named best Belarusian player of the year seven times during this period. In 2019, he signed for top Russian club Kristall, having played for other Russian clubs since 2011. He was also part of the Belarusian squad the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup,

In August 2020, Bryshtel was one of many Belarusian athletes to speak out against the Lukashenko regime during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. As a matter of politics, this resulted in his banishment from the national team; he was captain at the time of his exclusion, and his time in exile included missing out on Belarus's 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup campaign. In February 2023, Bryshtel publicly expressed "repentance" for his actions and was assimilated back into the national team.

Bryshtel's impact on his return was instant, winning the best player award at the World Cup qualifiers in July and being voted as Belarusian player of the year for an eighth time. He was subsequently included in Belarus's 12-man roster for the 2024 World Cup.

Statistics

Competition Season Div. Apps Goals Ref.Euro Beach Soccer League 2009 B 5 3 2010 2 2 2011 5 4 2012 3 1 2013 A 6 2 2014 9 13 2015 7 11 2016 10 12 2017 10 14 2018 10 12 2019 4 3 2023 6 4 Total 77 81 —

Competition Year Apps Goals Ref.FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2019 3 4 2024 6 12 Total 9 16 —

Honours As of 2023.

The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major honours Bryshtel has achieved:

Euro Beach Soccer League Superfinal Third place (1): 2023 Top scorer (1): 2018 Regular season Division B stage winner (2): 2009, 2012 Division A stage winner (2): 2016, 2018 Best player (1): 2018 (x1) UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Third place (1): 2019 Best player (1): 2023 Euro Winners Cup Third place (2): 2015, 2018 Top scorer (1): 2015 Beach Soccer Stars World's best player shortlist (4): 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 ABFF beach soccer player of the year First place (8): 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023