{"id":484786,"date":"2026-06-10T00:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T00:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484786\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T00:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T00:07:08","slug":"uzbekistan-world-cup-2026-team-guide-uzbekistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/484786\/","title":{"rendered":"Uzbekistan World Cup 2026 team guide | Uzbekistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network<\/a>, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.<\/p>\n

The plan<\/p>\n

It has been quite a journey. When Srecko Katanec took charge of Uzbekistan<\/a> in 2021 he introduced an effective 3-4-3 system and his successors, Timur Kapadze and now Fabio Cannavaro, have stuck with it.<\/p>\n

The first round of qualification was straightforward. In a four-team group they saw off Turkmenistan and Hong Kong and held Iran to two draws. The second round was favourable, too. Uzbekistan avoided being drawn against giants such as Japan, South Korea and Australia, and their away games were relatively nearby. Their away fixture against North Korea was played in Laos, with the Uzbekistan team arriving by chartered flight. Across both rounds of qualification, the White Wolves lost just one of their 16 games, a 3-2 defeat in Qatar. All four games against Iran, one of Asia\u2019s heavyweights, ended in draws. Utkir Yusupov, Uzbekistan\u2019s No 1 goalkeeper, made a particularly significant contribution to the side\u2019s historic qualification, saving penalties in the two matches against North Korea.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideUzbekistan: Group K fixturesShow<\/p>\n

17 June v Colombia, Mexico City (8pm local, 18 June 3am BST, 18 June noon AEST)<\/p>\n

23 June v Portugal, Houston (noon local, 6pm BST, 24 June 3am AEST)<\/p>\n

27 June v DR Congo, Atlanta (7.30pm local, 28 June 0.30am BST, 28 June 9.30am AEST)<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

The deterioration of Katanec\u2019s health during the qualifiers came as a surprise to everyone. The Slovenian was unable to fly to Tashkent for some of the matches as a result. \u201cIf I leave the national team for the third time due to health reasons, I will never return,\u201d Katanec said in the summer of 2024. He resigned in January 2025 and was replaced by Kapadze, who led the Uzbekistan Olympic team to Paris 2024 for the first time. Katanec said his successor \u201cfinished the meal I started to prepare\u201d.<\/p>\n

After securing a place at the World Cup<\/a>, the Uzbekistan football association planned to bring in a foreign coach. Cannavaro was selected from several candidates and signed an initial two-year contract. \u201cI\u2019m happy to be given this opportunity, it is a great honour. I came here not to change everything, but to continue the work that has been started,\u201d the 2006 World Cup-winning captain said on the day he arrived last year, a few months after qualification had been assured.<\/p>\n

Uzbekistan<\/a>The coach<\/p>\n

Fabio Cannavaro played a total of 18 matches at the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, lifting the trophy in Germany in 2006. He is second only to Gianluigi Buffon\u2019s 176 caps for Italy. However, he has not achieved great results as a coach. In four years in charge of Guangzhou Evergrande he won one Chinese Super League title, while his reign as China\u2019s head coach lasted just two games. Then there were more short spells at Benevento, Udinese and Dinamo Zagreb. \u201cI have played many games on the field where I thought I had given everything,\u201d he has said. \u201cBut after hanging up my boots and starting my coaching career, I realised that 90 minutes on the field can never be compared to the life of a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Star playerAbdukodir Khusanov is the key man at the back for Uzbekistan. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Abdukodir Khusanov is by far the most recognisable face in the Uzbekistan side \u2013 the country\u2019s first player to appear in the Champions League, Premier League or Ligue 1. His father, Khikmat Khoshimov, also played as a central defender. At 17, Khusanov went to play for Energetik-BGU Minsk in Belarus but could only train, with foreign players not allowed to play competitively until the age of 18. \u201cIn Belarus, I suffered away from my parents \u2013 often there were training sessions three times a day. If there was heavy snow in winter, we would clear the field ourselves and then train,\u201d he says. During a whirlwind 2023, when Khusanov won the Under-20 Asian Cup with Uzbekistan and earned his first senior cap, Lens came calling. Within 18 months the shy youngster was at Manchester City. \u201cHe is a top signing,\u201d Pep Guardiola said. \u201cHe is so coachable. He is always training good and gives 100%.\u201d The 22-year-old has won the FA Cup and League Cup this season.<\/p>\n

One to watch<\/p>\n

Born in 2007 in the Namangan region, Behruz Karimov has always been impatient to progress. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing football since I was six years old. When I was in high school, I was rejected by the under-19 team of Navbahor because I was too young. After that I started trying to prove that age is just a number.\u201d In March last year, the teenage right-back made his debut for Surkhan in the Uzbek top flight. In October, he scored his first goal. And last January, at the age of 18, he participated in the Under-23 Asian Cup, scoring against South Korea, and soon earned his first senior call-up. After breaking his toe playing for Surkhan in April he underwent surgery but recovered in time for the World Cup. A year ago, he would not have dreamed of this. \u201cAfter the injury I was very depressed, but everyone around me supported me. This also helped me get back on my feet faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsung hero<\/p>\n

Dostonbek Khamdamov played for Uzbekistan at every youth level right through his teenage years, from winning the Under-16 Asian Cup in 2012 to repeating the feat at the under-23 tournament in 2018. After his brilliant performances for Bunyodkor, Khamdamov \u2013 named the best young player in Asia in 2015 \u2013 moved to Anzhi Makhachkala in Russia in 2018 but played only nine games. Back home with Pakhtakor, the winger has won five league titles and three Uzbek Cups across two spells. Having had a spell in the cold with the national team, Khamadov has found himself back in favour under Cannavaro.<\/p>\n

Probable starting XIWhat to expect from fans at games?<\/p>\n

Uzbek supporters travelled to a global football tournament for the first time in 2024, descending on Paris for the Olympics. No matter which country they go to, they leave behind only good memories. Their most famous song is: \u201cThe Temurids have come, the Baburids have come\u201d \u2013 the descendants of Timur and Babur \u2013 two empire builders in Central Asia \u2013 have arrived, meaning business.<\/p>\n

Relationship with the US\/Trump?<\/p>\n

The presidents of Uzbekistan and the US have met several times in recent years and relations are warm. \u201cShavkat Mirziyoyev is my friend,\u201d Trump said when they were together at the Board of Peace in Washington in February 2026. \u201cHe\u2019s got one of the most difficult names in history, but that\u2019s OK, it doesn\u2019t matter. Your country is doing great. You\u2019re doing great and just no problems. Every time I see him, nope, we\u2019re doing good, no problems.\u201d In November last year Mirziyoyev told Trump: \u201cIn Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written by Narzulla Saydullaev for Championat Asia<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network, a cooperation between some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-484786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}