The Uzbekistan national football team was founded in 1928 and, when the country became independent in 1992, played its first game against Tajikistan. In 1994 it was recognized by FIFA and that year the team won in the Asian Games.
The team started its attempts to qualify for the World Cup Championship since 1998 but has never had a fair measure of success.
Before the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign Ravshan Khaydarov guided the team. He banked on young footballers and the squad started to show good results in different tournaments without experienced players.
In 2006 Uzbekistan bowed out in the final stage of Asian qualification for the World Cup. The first round was a success as the team defeated Taiwan. Uzbekistan made it through the next round where it was seeded in the group with Lebanon, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. The round, where the team was drawn along with Bahrain, Qatar and Japan, was crucial. Uzbekistan was knocked out losing to Bahrain on away goals.
The team showed its best result in the AFC Asian Cup in 2011, finishing fourth.
Found a mistake? Highlight it with mouse and press CTRL + Enter. Thank you!
