“He is not afraid, he does his job calmly and quietly” – Maxim Shatskikh about Khusanov

In an interview with Sports24, one of the legends of Uzbek football, Maxim Shatskikh, who currently works as an advisor to the president of the Pakhtakor club, expressed his opinion on Abdukodir Khusanov and assessed the national team's capabilities.

“Khusanov is a first-team player. This is a normal rotation”

“The fact that he hasn’t played in the last few games doesn’t mean anything. Khusanov is the future of City! He will definitely play. He is only 21 years old, and playing for a team of this level is an achievement in itself. He has all the qualities to play at the level of super clubs in Europe.”

Shatskikh described Khusanov as “mentally resilient”, “physically strong” and “an intelligent player.”

“Puyol? Pique? No, Khusanov is a player on his own path”

“You can’t compare him to Puyol or Pique. Abdukоdir is quiet, cultured and does his job without saying a word. Maybe he has similarities with Pepe. But let’s not compare him – he is a player who is doing his own thing. In our own words: ‘Khusanov is just Khusanov!’”

World Cup: “Only one difficult step left”

“The situation in the qualifiers is good. There is only one step left to qualify for the World Cup, but it will be very difficult. We have a game away with the UAE and a game at home with Qatar. A draw in the Emirates is enough. But we need to solve the problem in the first game.”

According to Shatskikh, the emphasis should be on attack, not defense. Because:

“Fast attack is Uzbekistan’s strongest weapon. It is necessary not to play defensively, but to ‘press’ the opponent with dangerous passes.”

The national team will play its last two matches for the 2026 World Cup in June:

- June 5 — as a guest in the UAE.
- June 10 — in Tashkent against Qatar.

What do you think: is Abdukodir Khusanov really the future of City? Can the Uzbekistan national team make history? Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!