With the recent upsurge in Uzbekistan's soccer scene, especially the country's men's youth soccer team at all levels, ESPN praised the strong team from Central Asia in its latest report, emphasizing that Uzbekistan is on its way to becoming one of Asia's soccer powerhouses.
Despite their mediocre performance in the Asian rankings, Uzbekistan are still new to the World Cup scene, with their best result in the Asian Cup stopping at the quarterfinals.
The Uzbekistan Premier League lacks the appeal and prestige of an AFC Champions League finalist, but the rise of its men's youth teams at all levels seems to signal that they are expected to be among the top of Asian soccer in the future.
Uzbekistan U23 advanced to the quarterfinals of the U23 Asian Cup on Saturday after defeating defending champions Saudi Arabia U23 2-0 in the quarterfinals. A win over Indonesia in the semifinals would have qualified them for the Paris Olympics; even so, they still have a chance to fight for Olympic qualification in the third-place playoff.
While some have questioned the seemingly unconvincing ease with which Uzbekistan U23 progressed to the quarter-finals without encountering tough opponents in the group stage, their 2-0 victory against Saudi Arabia certainly underlined the strength of the team.
Against the not-so-famous Saudi players, numerous of whom play for well-known clubs such as Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory and Jeddah United, the game started with the Uzbek players dominating in terms of skill and concentration as well as individual technique and physical condition.
Uzbekistan finally managed to avenge the disappointment of losing to Saudi Arabia in the final of the last U23 Asian Cup, proving once again that Uzbekistan is rapidly emerging and gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with in Asian soccer.
Uzbekistan have scored 12 goals and kept a clean sheet in this year's U23 Asian Cup, and with four consecutive victories, no one is questioning their strength and squad depth. In the four matches, manager Kapadze has constantly adjusted his starting lineup, with Lens defender Khusanov and CSKA Moscow attacker Fayzullaev being the two brightest performers in the team, neither of whom played in the first two group stage matches.
Uzbekistan are confident in themselves, and although they may not yet be at the highest level in Asia, with Olympic qualification and consecutive victories in this U23 Asian Cup, there is reason to believe that they will quickly rise to become a powerhouse in Asian soccer.
