Tarkhanov Evaluates Uzbekistan's World Cup Participation

Russian coach Aleksandr Tarkhanov evaluated the participation of the Uzbekistan national team in the 2026 World Cup.

According to the specialist, it is not right to harshly criticize the Uzbekistan national team for their results, as they are participating in the World Cup for the first time in their history. Qualifying for the World Cup itself is considered a great success for the country's football.

«They cannot be blamed. Uzbekistan reached the World Cup for the first time. Participating in the World Cup is a great achievement in itself. The team gained important experience and will be even better prepared for the next World Cup», said Tarkhanov.

At the same time, the Russian coach did not highly rate Uzbekistan's chances of reaching the play-off stage in the current tournament.

«It will be difficult for them to reach the next stage this time because they conceded too many goals», Match TV reported.

As a reminder, the Uzbekistan national team led by Fabio Cannavaro lost 1:3 to Colombia and 0:5 to Portugal in the first two rounds.

The «White Wolves» will take the field against DR Congo in the final group stage match. Although the team maintains a theoretical chance to reach the play-offs, the large negative goal difference has made the task much more difficult.