Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Songkhla: Part of the side which became Asian champions in 2018, Khojiakbar Alijonov has returned to the AFC U23 Championship eager to help Uzbekistan retain their continental crown and carve out a piece of Olympic history.
The Central Asians memorably emerged victorious in China PR two years, recovering from an opening-day defeat to string together five consecutive wins and claim arguably their biggest international honour since their famous 1994 Asian Games triumph.
But while 1994 and 2018 produced feats well worth celebrating, one milestone the White Wolves have never achieved is to qualify for the Olympic Games football tournament; a goal they can accomplish by finishing in the top-three in the competition which begins on Wednesday.
www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc_u23_asian_cup/video/2018_final_vietnam_1-2_uzbekistan.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/khojiakbar_alijonov-pakhtakor.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/uzbekistanu23-training.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: With the defending champions and three of the continent’s footballing heavyweights all present, Group C looks set to produce some AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020’s must-see matches.
With just four days remaining until the tournament begins, join the-AFC.com for a look at the key names from Uzbekistan, Korea Republic, China PR and Islamic Republic of Iran.
The top two sides in Group C will advance to the quarter-finals, while the tournament’s top three finishers will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The young White Wolf, a solid pair of hands, and two players with European experience looking to finally fulfill their potential, are the ones to keep an eye on in Group C of the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020.
Songkhla is set to feature a feast of football with five of Group C's six fixtures taking place in southern Thailand. Taking to the field at Tinsulanon Stadium will be defending champions Uzbekistan, perennial contenders Korea Republic, China PR and Islamic Republic of Iran.
We have picked out four players capable of shining in Songkhla.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Holders Uzbekistan will begin their AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 campaign in red-hot form after completing their pre-tournament warm-up schedule with a 3-1 win over Qatar at SCG Stadium on Friday.
The win follows earlier successes against fellow Thailand 2020 participants Iraq, who Uzbekistan beat 4-2 and 3-1 in a pair of friendlies in Sharjah last week.
Ljubinko Drulovic’s side also beat two Emirati club sides – Al Arabi and Al Hamriyah – taking theit tally to five consecutive wins and 18 goals scored in the last two and a half weeks.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: Uzbekistan’s U23 head coach Ljubinko Drulovic has set his sights on securing back-to-back titles as the Central Asian side look to not only defend the title they won in China in 2018 but secure a place at the Olympic Games for the first time in the country’s history.
The Uzbeks impressed two years ago on the way to their first Asian title at national level since claiming the gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games with a 2-1 victory over Vietnam in snow-covered Changzhou.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: So often the nearly men of Asian football, having narrowly missed out on a place at the FIFA World Cup on several occasions, Uzbekistan enjoyed one of their finest footballing moments at the AFC U23 Championship China 2018.
A talented young side had claimed the AFC U-16 Championship title in 2012, but that was the only Continental trophy the Central Asians had lifted since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 1994.
Two years ago in Jiangsu, Ravshan Khadarov’s team began slowly before growing into the tournament. We look back how their march to a memorable title unfolded.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: The 2020 AFC U23 Championship is set to bring a festival of football for fans of the Continental game as 16 teams get ready to battle it out in three cities across Thailand.
While each match-up between some of the best young talents in Asia is set to be well worth watching, we have highlighted five ties among the 24 group stage fixtures that are of particular interest.