{"id":1161,"date":"2020-01-27T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=1161"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T05:06:24","slug":"what-does-the-future-hold-for-uzbekistan-after-another-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/what-does-the-future-hold-for-uzbekistan-after-another-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the future hold for Uzbekistan after another failure?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday\u2019s defeat to Australia brought to a close Uzbekistan\u2019s dream of qualifying for the Olympics for a first time since independence.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A moment that would\u2019ve been the pinnacle of the nation\u2019s football history to date, a chance for the nation to showcase their identity on the world stage was missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Australia celebrated wildly in Bangkok, a first Olympics for them since 2008, a familiar gut wrenching sense of bitter disappointment was felt by every player and fan supporting the White Wolves that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be naive to say Asian football hadn\u2019t seen this coming, given the myth and reputation that affixes itself to anything related to Uzbek football. After yet another promising cohort failed to break from the shackles of this crushing hoodoo, the question remains who or what can break it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The perception that Uzbekistan inevitably collapse in critical moments is one that’s been well woven into continental football folk law for some time now. The regularly dubbed \u201cbottlers\u201d of Asia tag is one that is dragged around by any team hailing from the nation, from national teams of any age group to their domestic representatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the last two years have seen marked improvements at all levels of the game including their triumph at 2018\u2019s U23 Championships, the last year has regrettably been defined by moment after moment which continues to see them fall back into old habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, domestic powerhouse Pakhtakor knew a point away in Jeddah against Saudi giants Al-Ahli would be enough to see them through to their first knockout appearance in the AFC Champions League in nearly a decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An 88th minute leveller from Igor Sergeev heightened expectations of progression, which were quickly dashed by Abdulrahman Ghareeb\u2019s stoppage time winner to send the home side through in their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six months later, after an inconsistent start to World Cup qualification, Uzbekistan knew a win over Saudi Arabia in Tashkent would extend their lead over the Green Falcons to four points at the midway point of Round 2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite taking a second half lead, two late goals saw Saudi Arabia flip the tables on their rivals to take the initiative in the back stretch of qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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