International Publication Names Uzbek Players Who Struggled Against Netherlands

Before the official start of the World Cup, the Uzbekistan national team played its final serious friendly match. In a dramatic game in New York against the strong Netherlands team, considered one of the main contenders for the World Cup trophy, our representatives lost 1-2. Experienced Igor Sergeyev from the "White Wolves" could only respond once to two penalties converted by the opponent's leading striker Cody Gakpo. After the match, prominent foreign sports experts began to carefully analyze the teams' performances.

In particular, the famous The World Inform publication released a comprehensive analytical article on the Uzbekistan national team's performance after this historic match. The publication noted that Fabio Cannavaro's wards also tasted the bitterness of defeat in their second friendly match in June — previously, our representatives had also lost to the Canada national team. According to experts, if Ronald Koeman's players had given their all, the scoreline could have been much larger due to the difference in class and level on the pitch. Foreign analysts gave very low ratings on a 10-point scale to several of our players who were the main culprits in the defeat and failed to perform at the expected level:

Jahongir O‘rozov — 3 points

This match turned into a real misfortune for the young defender. From the start of the game, Donyell Malen easily got past him, and later O‘rozov committed a foul in the penalty area against Xavi Simons, causing the first penalty. Jahongir failed to contain the opponent's fast and dangerous attackers throughout the match.

Farrukh Sayfiyev — 3 points

Serious problems were also evident in the right defense of our national team. Netherlands star Cody Gakpo operated against Sayfiyev without any difficulty, freely making dangerous crosses from the wing. Farrukh lost all three one-on-one duels on the field, and his only shot in attack was deflected by opponent midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Abduqodir Husanov — 3 points

Although Husanov, playing in central defense, stood out with several positive actions during the match, including ball interceptions and clearing an opponent's shot off the goal line, he made a crude mistake at the end of the game. He pushed Jan Paul van Hecke during a corner kick situation, which led to the second decisive penalty being awarded against our team. According to statistics, he won only one out of six duels.

Oston O‘runov and Abbosbek Fayzullaev — 3 points

The attacking duo of Oston O‘runov and Abbosbek Fayzullaev, in whom fans placed high hopes, completely disappeared from the field. They neither provided striker Eldor Shomurodov with useful passes nor created dangerous situations themselves. In one instance, both of our players failed to capitalize on a convenient opportunity arising from Virgil van Dijk's error. Our representatives made many passing errors on the field and lost possession in dribbles.

This bitter but useful defeat will undoubtedly serve as a good lesson for our national team's coaching staff to work on shortcomings before the official World Cup matches. Always follow the upcoming historic steps of our national team at the future World Cup, the latest changes in the squad, and the hottest news from the US green fields with us on the Zamin pages!