Evolution, not revolution for Uzbekistan

After his first tournament in charge of Uzbekistan, the AFC Asian Cup, ended in a Round-of-16 exit at the hands of Australia, Hector Cuper made nine changes to his squad ahead of friendlies with Turkey, DPR Korea and Syria.

Following the retirement of iconic goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov, it was Pakhtakor’s Eldor Suyunov who was handed the starting spot between the sticks in Antalya as the Uzbeks fell to a 2-0 defeat on Sunday.

At stake is a place in the second round of the Asian Qualifiers and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Guam, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste are all intent on sealing a place in the July 17 draw.

Langerak, who played in the J-League at the weekend fell ill after the game and after discussions with the head coach Graham Arnold and the Australian medical team over the past few days, it was decided it would be best for him to stay in Japan.

“I was desperate to join the boys in camp, we’ve had a great start to the season in Japan. However, I didn’t want to jeopardise anyone else in camp, so I accept this is probably the right decision. I’ll be watching from home and I’m sure the boys will do us proud,” he said.

MALAYSIA 2-0 NEPAL

 Malaysia defeated Nepal 2-0 as the Southeast Asians enter the final phase of their preparations for the first round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Qualifiers.

Malaysia, who will face regional rivals Timor-Leste in the first round of the Qualifiers, turned on the power in the second half with Safawi Rashid and Shahrul Saad finding the back of the net at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The 22-strong squad is dominated by national champions FC Dordoi, with 13 players provided by the Bishkek-based club, which is also coached by national team boss Alexander Krestinin.

The Akshumkar provided one of the feel-good stories of January’s Continental Finals, reaching the knockout stage on their tournament debut before losing to hosts United Arab Emirates in the Round of 16.

However, Spanish coach Felix Sanchez is not so easily pigeon-holed, having followed a somewhat different path. He first came to Qatar in 2006 to work as a trainer at Aspire Academy, with the task of identifying and developing young talent.

Guam are about to get a short sharp taste of that next week when they open their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Qualifiers, as Round 1 action kicks off on Thursday. The remote northern Pacific island nation was drawn against Bhutan in April, and it soon became apparent that the football contest is just one part of the challenge.

Guam will leave the cloying humidity of their tropical homeland behind and head for the kingdom perched high up in the Himalayas. There they will find a unique almost magical place, with its distinctive Changlimithang stadium a fitting display of local traditional design.

Speaking ahead of the team's departure for Buriram, he played down the occasion, saying: “I never think about the 100+ games or the number of goals I have scored.

"I feel proud though when people around me keep reminding me that every record is in your name, and here we are talking about a country’s history. For someone who never even dreamt of playing for his country, or even of making it professionally, it’s unbelievable.”