Neustadter gets Russian passport ahead of Euro 2016
Footballer Roman Neustadter has officially become a Russian citizen after collecting his passport from his new country's embassy in Bonn, Germany – meaning he can be included in Russia’s Euro 2016 squad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last Wednesday to grant citizenship to the 28-year-old, who will now play for Russia at the upcoming UEFA European Championships in France.
The Schalke 04 defender was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, but moved to Germany in the early 1990s.
His father, Pyotr Neustadter, enjoyed a long playing career in Russia and Germany, before taking up managerial roles with FSV Mainz 05 II and TuS Koblenz.
Neustadter junior played for Mainz and Borussia Monchengladbach before switching to Schalke in 2012.
He has established himself as a permanent fixture in the first team, helping the club to fifth in the table last season and a place in the Europa League next term.
Neustadter previously played twice for the German national team in non-competitive games, leaving him clear to play for Russia.
Another new citizen in the Russian Euro 2016 squad is goalkeeper Marinato Guilherme.
The Brazilian-born stopper received citizenship last November and made his Russian debut in a friendly against Lithuania in March.
Russia face England in their opening game of Euro 2016 in Marseille on June 11, before meeting Slovakia four days later.
They round off their Group B fixtures against Wales on June 20.
Confirmed Russia squad:
Goalkeepers
Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Guilherme (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg)
Defenders
Alexei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Vasili Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Schalke 04), Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit)
Midfielders
Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Oleg Ivanov (Terek Grozny), Pavel Mamaev (Krasnodar), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (CSKA Moscow), Dmitri Torbinski (Krasnodar)
Forwards
Artem Dzyuba (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Zenit St Petersburg), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar)
