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Uzbekistan announced its arrival on the international football scene with a bang when it won the gold medal of the 1994 Asian Games. Since then, they have found titles difficult to come by.
Although the side is still the strongest among the former Soviet Republic nations who have joined Asia, Uzbekistan has generally not been able to fulfill the promise it has shown in 1994. Nevertheless, they are still among the top eight national teams in Asia and have been consistent enough to feature in most of the final competitions in Asia.
Uzbekistan has yet to qualify for the finals of the FIFA World Cups but 2004/2005 could be their year. In 2004, they had an impressive run in the Asian Cup China. Their loss came in the quarter-finals against Bahrain but only through penalty kic.
Furthermore, the country has an abundance of quality players, such as Dynamo Kiev hotshot Maxim Shatskikh and Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Vladimir Maminov, who are both experienced European players. The challenge for the coach would be to pull together their top players and create a united team, as many of these players are busy with their clubs in a variety of Eastern and Central European leagues.
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