Eldor Shomurodov: We apologize to the fans for the heavy defeat (video)

Uzbekistan national team captain Eldor Shomurodov shared his thoughts after the match against Portugal in the second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage.

The "White Wolves" suffered a 0-5 defeat against a strong opponent. Shomurodov admitted the result was harsh, but emphasized that the players gave their all on the pitch.

"0-5 is a heavy defeat. But we gave everything we had," said the national team captain.

In his opinion, against a high-level team like Portugal, which possesses many players with strong individual skills, giving maximum effort alone may not be enough.

In such matches, the team also needs luck. The players for Portugal are capable of exploiting any small mistake to decide the fate of the game.

"Against a team as strong as Portugal, giving your all might not be enough. Luck must also be on your side, because the opponent has many individually strong players," Shomurodov noted.

The national team captain expressed his understanding that the heavy scoreline was hard for the fans to take and apologized on behalf of the entire team.

"We apologize to the fans for the heavy defeat," the striker said.

Now, the Uzbekistan national team will focus all its attention on the final group stage match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Shomurodov stated that the team would prepare well for this clash and take the field with the sole aim of winning.

"We will try to prepare well for the match against DR Congo. If everything goes well, we will take the field to defeat them," he added.

The match against DR Congo will be the final and very important test for Uzbekistan at the World Cup. Our national team will strive to win this match, bring joy to the fans, and end the tournament with dignity.