Cannavaro openly stated the shortcomings after Iran: There is also a problem related to Shomurodov

Uzbekistan national team head coach Fabio Cannavaro openly stated that even after the victory over Iran, there are still issues in the team awaiting solutions. The Italian specialist particularly drew attention to decision-making in attack, over-accelerating the game, and conceding goals in the first 20 minutes.

Cannavaro's remarks at the press conference held ahead of the match against Syria showed that while the victory over Iran was important for the team, the coach does not want to stop at just the result. He demands that the players better understand the playing philosophy and find various solutions to situations on the pitch.

«We need to improve many things»

After the match against Iran, Cannavaro was asked what shortcomings were noticeable in the national team's performance.

The coach emphasized that the team still needs to grow in many aspects. In his opinion, one of the main problems is the players' attempts to finish attacks too quickly in certain situations.

Cannavaro said that he analyzed the match against Iran with the players and pointed out the areas where strengthening is necessary.

«In some situations, we accelerate events too much and try to find individual solutions».

He noted that in some cases, it is not strictly necessary to rush forward to continue an attack. Passing the ball back and building the attack from the beginning can also be the right decision.

Cannavaro also spoke about Eldor

One of the most interesting points at the press conference was Cannavaro's thoughts regarding Eldor Shomurodov.

The coach stated that in certain situations, instead of continuing team combinations, players try to pass the ball to Eldor. Even if he is surrounded by three opposing players at the same time, his teammates try to expect a solution from him.

In Cannavaro's view, this situation shows that the team's attack must not be tied to a single player.

Therefore, the Italian specialist is explaining to the players that in some situations it is possible to turn back, break the opponent's pressure, and organize the attack from scratch.

The first 20 minutes — another concern for Cannavaro

The head coach drew attention to another important statistical fact.

According to him, in recent matches, the Uzbekistan national team has frequently been conceding goals in the opening 20 minutes of the game.

Cannavaro considers this time interval to be a very crucial part of the match. Therefore, how the team starts the game in the clash against Syria is of special importance.

The task for the coach is not only to be active in attack, but also not to give the opponent convenient opportunities from the very first minutes.

«Will Nematov be the number one for many years?»

The goalkeeper issue was also raised at the press conference.

Journalists cited examples like Manuel Neuer in Germany and Unai Simon in Spain playing as starters for a long time, and asked whether in Uzbekistan, Abduvohid Nematov could also be seen as the number one for many years to come.

Cannavaro expressed that he is not rushing to make such long-term conclusions for now.

He noted that in Spain's case, an important factor is that the head coach has been working with the team for a long time. Meanwhile, Cannavaro recently arrived at the Uzbekistan national team and is currently observing and analyzing all the players.

In addition, Nematov is currently facing an issue related to an injury. It was also noted that the Olympic team has a good goalkeeper as well.

«We will give everyone an opportunity», — said Cannavaro.

Why was Ibrohim Shokirov called up to the national team training?

At the press conference, the fact that U-17 national team goalkeeper Ibrohim Shokirov was called up to the national team training did not escape the attention of journalists.

Cannavaro explained the reason for this decision briefly and clearly.

According to him, since one of the goalkeepers was missing during the training process, there arose a need to call up an additional player. For this reason, Shokirov was involved in the national team's training.

This situation also means an opportunity for the young goalkeeper to train alongside senior players during the national team training camp.

What does Cannavaro expect from Syria?

Uzbekistan's next opponent, Syria, is also in Cannavaro's focus.

The Italian specialist assessed Syria as a good team. In his opinion, the opponent will try not to leave open spaces for Uzbekistan and to play as compactly as possible.

For this reason, Cannavaro demands that the players start the match well and control the game.

This is also directly related to the issue of the first 20 minutes mentioned by the coach. If the team can control the initiative from the start of the game, more opportunities will arise to find a solution against Syria's dense defense.

The victory over Iran is not the final point

One thing is clearly visible from Cannavaro's words at the press conference: the victory over Iran is not the final result for the Italian specialist, but rather part of the process of developing the team further.

The Uzbekistan national team is still at the stage of fully forming the style of play demanded by Cannavaro. Not being overly dependent on Eldor in attack, developing situations without rushing, not being afraid to pass the ball back, and most importantly, starting the match reliably — were the main aspects the coach focused on.

In the clash against Syria, it will be possible to see how well these requirements work in practice. For Cannavaro, the main question now will not be the victory, but rather in which aspects the team has achieved growth after the match against Iran.