DOHA: Uzbekistan may not have made their Asian Cup debut until 1996, but they have improved with each participation and will be aiming for a last-four place at the 2011 tournament.
Eliminated in the group phase on their competition debut 15 years ago, the Central Asian heavyweights suffered the same fate four years later but have since reached the quarter-finals at successive tournaments.
Their showing at the 2007 event in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam proved their emerging pedigree, as they ousted China in the group phase before falling to eventual finalists Saudi Arabia in the last eight.
Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov ran training camps in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates in preparation for the Qatar competition and says his players have quickly established an understanding.
“The language of football is one and, to understand each other, the players do not need to have that much time,” he told the Asian Football Confederation’s official website.
“Let’s just say that those players who are joining the team for the camp (in the UAE) are considered to have more talent, but how they perform within the team depends entirely on them.”
Uzbekistan won the Asian Games football tournament on their debut appearance in 1994 and their Under-23 side reached the last eight at the most recent event in China in November.
Having squeezed into the knockout phase by finishing third in their group – behind the UAE and Hong Kong – they edged Qatar 1-0 in the last 16 before falling 3-1 to South Korea after extra time in the quarter-finals.
Abramov’s side will cross swords with Qatar again when they tackle the hosts in the tournament’s opening game at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium on Jan 7.
China and recently crowned Gulf Cup of Nations champions Kuwait complete the Group A line-up.
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