The FIFA U-17 World Cup, currently underway in Qatar, has reached its peak. Now the teams that successfully completed the group stage are preparing to enter the field for a spot in the 1/16 finals.
The Uzbekistan youth national team also played their matches in Group J at a high level and qualified for the playoffs. Our young footballers, led by Islam Ismailov, played in the same group with Ireland, Paraguay, and Panama, scoring 6 points with two wins and one loss.
Our team won 2-1 against Paraguay in the first round, then failed in the match against Ireland, but in the decisive match, they defeated Panama 6-1, achieving a sensational result in world football.
Thus, the Uzbekistan U-17 national team will compete in the playoff stage against the representative of Europe - the Croatian U-17 team, who took second place in Group "C."
Expert evaluation and reviews
As the tournament atmosphere heated up, football analysts and experts began to assess the capabilities of the teams. Russian journalist Alexander Troitsky analyzed the balance of power between the youth national teams of Croatia and Uzbekistan on his social media page.
"Uzbekistan is a very good team. They will play against Croatia in the 1/16 finals. This opponent is a disciplined and structured team without big stars. They finished second in their group with 7 points, only losing first place to Senegal by goal difference," Troitsky wrote.
He noted that Croatia does not have world-class young stars, but the club systems are very strong.
"According to Transfermarkt, their most expensive player is Tino Kushanovic (300 thousand euros), who plays for "Nürnberg II." There are also Gabriel Shivales from Slaven Belupo's system (€250,000) and Leon Yakirovich from Dinamo Zagreb's academy (€150,000). In addition, Croatian footballers are being trained in the academies of Parma (Italy) and several German clubs," the journalist added.
At the same time, Troitsky also expressed a positive opinion about Uzbek teenagers:
"The Uzbekistan team has demonstrated significant growth in recent years. They are quite mature not only technically, but also tactically. In particular, in the match against Panama, they showed their level to the whole world with their actions in the second half. I think this team is capable of surpassing Croatia. This is an opportunity for them - and they can take advantage of it."
New challenge for our guys
With this result, the Uzbekistan U-17 national team once again confirmed its leading position in Asia. It should be recalled that Islam Ismailov's students won the Asian Championship held in Saudi Arabia this spring and earned a ticket to the World Championship.
In the final of the Asian Cup, Uzbek youth showed true will and skill by defeating Saudi Arabia with a score of 2:0, despite having two fewer players.
Therefore, every step in this world championship is an important stage on the path of Uzbek youth to big football. They demonstrate not only victory, but also their style, their school to the world.
Match time
The match between the Uzbekistan and Croatia youth national teams will kick off on November 15th at 8:45 PM Tashkent time.
This game is not only an opportunity to advance to the playoffs, but also a new opportunity to prove yourself on the big stage. And the fans are waiting for another bright and heartfelt match from the national team.
One thing is clear: Islam Ismailov's players will now show dedication on the field every minute for their name and the honor of their homeland.
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