Uzbekistan is Ready to Become the New Giant in Asia
The Uzbekistan national team has become a sensation in the world of football. This sensation can be seen from the involvement of the Uzbekistan National Team at several age levels in various international competitions.
This country located in Central Asia has sent representatives to junior tournaments like the U20 World Cup in Argentina and the U17 World Cup in Indonesia. In fact, the Uzbekistan junior team was able to provide a convincing performance. Including, when Uzbekistan reached the semifinals of the U17 World Cup in Indonesia.
This means that the development of Uzbekistan football cannot be underestimated. Sooner or later, the nicknamed team will play in the World Cup and become one of the football giants from Asia.
Moreover, discourse has emerged that the 2026 World Cup will involve 48 teams rather than the usual 32 teams. If that scenario occurs, then Uzbekistan, which is currently on the rise, could become one of the representatives from the Asian continent for the 2026 World Cup.
For the context of the Asian continent, Uzbekistan, which has qualified for the last eight of the Asian Cup after beating Thailand (2-1), seems ready to become a new giant in Asia. This is very visible from the guidance made by the country that separated from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Junior football from Uzbekistan is developing very convincingly. The coaching process will definitely have an impact on the performance of the senior national team and the opportunity to perform convincingly in international tournaments in the future.
In the 2023 Asian Cup, Uzbekistan can be seen as a “dark horse” who can surprise and compete for the trophy.
Being in group B, Uzbekistan managed to come out as runner-up behind Australia. After beating Thailand, the team coached by Srecko Katanec has secured a ticket to the round of 8.
Uzbekistan’s Readiness to Become an Asian Giant
There are several advantages that make Uzbekistan a new giant in the world of football from the Asian continent. As written above, the process of developing young players in Uzbekistan is quite convincing because they have sent representatives to the youth World Cup.
Some of the players have played for several teams in Europe. If Uzbekistan’s performance continues to maintain its best level, it is not impossible that Uzbekistan will become a home for quality players in the big leagues in Europe.
Apart from the player development process which has been seen in the participation of the junior squad in the world cup, Uzbekistan’s advantage is that the team’s performance continues to improve.
Getting to the last eight in the 2023 Asian Cup is just one example. Uzbekistan has regularly played in the Asian Cup since 1996. Since 2004, Uzbekistan has always entered the round of 16. In fact, in 2011, Uzbekistan entered the semifinals of the Asian Cup.
In terms of consistent team performance, Uzbekistan seems ready to become one of the rising stars from Asia in the world of football. Not a few also predict that Uzbekistan will be one of the teams that will play in the 2026 World Cup.
Not to mention, the development of the quality of the domestic competition called the Uzbekistan Super League. Two strong teams from Uzbekistan, Nasaf Quarshi and Navbahor, were among the teams that qualified for the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League. Uzbekistan only lost to Saudi Arabia, which contributed four representatives in the round of 16.
This means that the development of the Uzbekistan national team is also accompanied by the quality of the teams at the domestic level. With this, the national team has players who are honed in increasingly competitive domestic tournaments.
Uzbekistan seems ready to become one of the football giants in Asia. For now, Uzbekistan’s position is still in the “dark horse” category. However, sooner or later, Uzbekistan will become a team that is respected in Asia and the world.
ASL
