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| Kasimov named Uzbekistan coach |
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| Uzbekistan's new coach Mirdjalol Kasimov |
TASHKENT – Mirdjalal Kasimov, head coach of AFC Champions League quarter-finalists Kuruvchi (Bunyodkor), has replaced Rauf Inileev at the helm of the Uzbekistan national team.
Inileev, the 2007 AFC Coach of the Year, was dismissed following Uzbekistan’s 1-0 home defeat to Australia, which left the Central Asians bottom of Group A in the fourth round of Asian qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup having also lost 3-0 to Qatar in their opening match.
Uzbekistan are next in World Cup qualifying action when they travel to Japan to take on the three-time Asian champions in Saitama on October 15 and Kasimov will prepare for the crucial fixture with a friendly against Korea Republic in Seoul four days earlier.
The ex-international and his assistant, former Uzbekistan U-23 coach Vadim Abramov, will have to find a solution to the Uzbeks’ goal scoring crisis that has seen the Central Asians fail to score in their last five games if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time.
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