The Uzbekistan national football team will host the UAE in Tashkent in the third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The match will take place at the Bunyodkor stadium on October 15 at 19:00.
Based on the results of three rounds in Group “A”, Uzbekistan leads the standings with 7 points. The national team has two victories – against the DPRK (1:0) and Kyrgyzstan (2:3), as well as a home draw with Iran (0:0).
The UAE is third in the group with 4 points. It defeated Qatar (1:3), lost to Iran (0:1) and drew with the DPRK (1:1), although in the last match the North Koreans had an overwhelming advantage.
Last time Uzbekistan and UAE met in October 2020, as part of a friendly match, then the Uzbeks won with a score of 1:2.
In the last five personal meetings, both teams won two victories, drawing only once. Throughout history, the teams have met 15 times; Uzbekistan has 4 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses.
Having dropped two points at home to Iran on Thursday, Uzbekistan will need to beat the UAE if it is to maintain its lead in the race for the top two places in the group that will guarantee qualification for the World Cup.
UAE head coach Paulo Bento pre-match press conference on Monday called Uzbekistan “a good and organized team with a difficult game ahead.”
“We know the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent. They have good players and constant progress, which is proven by the results… Tomorrow we must be compact and make every effort to achieve a good result,” he said.
As previously reported, the head coach of the Uzbekistan national team, Srechko Katanec, who missed the match against Iran due to illness, will also be absent from the meeting with the UAE.
Assistant coach Vlado Radmanovic said that the coach is in constant contact and reviews all processes and games. According to him, Srečko Katanec plans to return to the national team in November, “if everything goes well.”
He said that Uzbekistan maintains a “bad tradition” with the UAE – the national team has never defeated the Emirati team at home.
“Of course, we respect the opponent, but we are absolutely ready to do everything necessary in tomorrow’s match and achieve a positive result, as well as fight for victory,” the specialist said.
Vlado Radmanovic agreed that the head coach on the field has a better influence on the game and the players. “We are aware of all the problems… I agree that we are a little late with replacements, but I don’t know everything about the current condition of the players. Some are in good shape, others may be in bad shape. Replacement does not always give a good result – it’s a lottery,” he noted.
Srečko Katanec led the UAE in 2009-2011 and defeated Uzbekistan in Tashkent. According to his assistant, this experience will help the national team better prepare for the upcoming meeting.
Midfielder Odiljon Khamrobekov said that an interesting game awaits with the UAE. “We, the representatives of the national team, will give everything on the field to show a good game and achieve the result that many fans of Uzbekistan will expect,” the footballer noted.
The main central defender Rustam Ashurmatov will miss tomorrow’s match due to too many yellow cards. In addition, midfielder Abbosbek Faizullaev was injured during training. Forward Oston Urunov also had problems with physical fitness, noted Vlado Radmanovich.
“The UAE defends well. We will put pressure on them, but it will be a little problematic because our attacking player Abbosbek Faizullaev was injured in training. Oston Urunov also had problems,” he said.
