Mergen Orazov on Uzbekistan's Historic World Cup 2026 Journey
The renowned specialist, former head coach of the Turkmenistan national team, Akhal, and Lithuania's Dainava, and current manager of Arkadag, Mergen Orazov shared his thoughts on the Uzbekistan national team's historic debut at the 2026 World Cup and the overall level of Asian teams. His analytical reflections were Eurasia Football published by the publication.
“Uzbekistan's success has given us all hope”
The Turkmen specialist highly praised the neighboring state for qualifying for the World Cup finals, emphasizing that this result is of great importance for the entire Central Asian region:
“First of all, I want to congratulate the Uzbekistan national team. Reaching such a level shows that great work is being done in the country. Uzbekistan's success has given us all hope – that one day our country can also qualify for the World Cup. Now the most important thing for Uzbekistan is to further consolidate this success and set the goal of regularly qualifying for World Cups”.
Uzbekistan national team results at the 2026 World Cup:
The Uzbekistan national team participated in the world's most prestigious tournament for the first time in its history. Although Fabio Cannavaro and his pupils failed to earn points in the group stage due to a lack of experience, this participation serves as a huge foundation for the future.
Round | Opponent | Head Coach | Score | Result |
Round 1 | Colombia | Fabio Cannavaro | 1:3 | Loss |
Round 2 | Portugal | Fabio Cannavaro | 0:5 | Loss |
Round 3 | DR Congo | Fabio Cannavaro | 1:3 | Loss |
Final | Goal difference: 2–11 | Group C | 0 points | Exited group stage |
How should Asian football compete with the giants?
Speaking about the general participation of Asian representatives at the World Cup, Orazov did not view their performance as a failure. In his opinion, at such a high level, many things are decided by small details — the pace of the game, maintaining concentration under pressure, and the quality of utilizing opportunities.
The specialist listed 3 main factors for Asian football to be able to compete regularly with the world leaders:
Raising the level of domestic championships: Fundamentally strengthening competition and game speed in local leagues.
Practice in top matches: Regularly playing in the highest level international matches against strong opponents.
Transfers to Europe: Sharply increasing the number of Asian players playing in Europe's strong championships (Top 5 leagues).
Orazov added that in some matches of the 2026 World Cup, Asian national teams only lacked a bit of luck, but the general development trend is moving in the right direction.
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