Recently, Uzbekistan's soccer world has been in a state of flux, and the performance of the country's youth men's soccer team at all levels has been particularly eye-catching, with ESPN dedicating an article to praising the Central Asian soccer upstarts and predicting that Uzbekistan is on its way to becoming a powerhouse in Asian soccer.
Despite their mediocre performance in the Asian rankings, Uzbekistan have not reached the World Cup stage and their best record in the Asian Cup is only the quarterfinals. The Uzbekistan Premier League has been lackluster and has never reached an AFC Champions League final, but the rise of the youth teams bodes well for their future as the best in Asian soccer.
Uzbekistan U23 beat defending champions Saudi Arabia U23 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the U23 Asian Cup on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. They will earn a spot in the Olympics if they can beat Indonesia in the semifinals. Even if they can't, they still have a chance to fight for Olympic qualification in the third-place playoff.
Some have questioned the ease with which Uzbekistan U23 progressed to the quarter-finals, given the lack of strong opponents in the group stage, as being less than credible. However, their 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the semifinals certainly proved the strength of the team.
Against many Saudi players who play for well-known teams such as Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory and Jeddah United, Uzbekistan had a much better game, dominating both in terms of skill, concentration, individual ability and physical condition.
Uzbekistan successfully avenged Saudi Arabia's loss in the U23 Asian Cup, avenging their defeat in the previous final. This also reaffirms the trend that Uzbekistan is rapidly emerging as a powerhouse in Asian soccer.
Uzbekistan scored 12 goals and conceded zero in this year's Asian Cup, winning four matches in a row and being recognized for its strength and depth in the squad. Head coach Kapadze kept rotating his squad throughout the four matches, with Lens defender Khusanov and CSKA Moscow's Fayzullaev emerging as the team's brightest stars, neither of whom had previously played in the first two matches of the group stage.
Uzbekistan are confident in their own strengths, and although they have yet to touch the highest peaks of Asian soccer, Olympic qualification and a winning streak in the U23 Asian Cup give us reason to believe that they will be the rising stars of Asian soccer.
