Like Cape Verde (which we wrote about already), Uzbekistan will be a debutant in the 2026 World Cup. It’s a much newer nation than Cape Verde, becoming sovereign in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union. It’s also one of nine AFC teams to make the tournament. Given who it will play in the group stage, the Uzbeks, who will be training at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground, have absolutely nothing to lose.
The skinny on Uzbekistan
Manager: Fabio Cannavaro
1st World Cup appearance
Best finish: N/A
Uzbekistan’s World Cup group stage matches
vs. Columbia, June 17 at 10 p.m. ET, Mexico City
vs. Portugal, June 23 at a p.m. ET, Houston
vs. DR Congo, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET, Atlanta
Uzbekistan provisional 30-man World Cup Roster
Goalkeepers
Utkir Yusupov (Foolad), Abduvohid Nematov (Nasaf), Botirail Ergashev (Neftchi Fergana)
Defenders
Abdokodir Khushanov (Manchester City), Rustam Ashurmatov (Esteghlal), Avabek Ulmasaliev (AGMK), Husniddin Aliqulov (Çaykur Rizespor), Umar Eshmurodov (Selangor), Abdulla Abdullaev (Khor Fakkan), Sherzod Nasrullaev (Nasaf), Farrukh Sayfiev (Navbahor), Muhammadkodir Hamraliev (Pakhtakor)
Midfielders
Otabek Shukurov (Kayserispor), Odiljon Hamrobekov (Navbahor), Jaloliddin Masharipov (Esteghlal), Jamshid Iskanderov (Navbahor), Diyor Kholmatov (Pakhtakor), Azizbek Turgunboev (Sivasspor), Hojimat Erkinov (Al Wahda), Sherzod Esanov (FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod), Akmal Mozgovoy (Nasaf), Aziz Ganiev (Shabab Al Ahli)
Forwards
Eldor Shomurodov (AS Roma), Abbosbek Fayzullaev (CSKA Moscow), Igor Sergeev (BG Pathum United), Oston Urunov (Persepolis), Jasur Yakhshiboev (Ordabasy), Jaloliddin Masharipov (Esteghlal), Sherzod Temirov (Kitchee), Aziz Amonov (Khor Fakkan)
Uzbekistan Group K outlook
Uzbekistan’s prize for making the World Cup for the first time was being drawn into a group that contains Colombia, Portugal, and DR Congo. To be clear, that takes nothing away from the national pride of making its tournament debut. Even after the early jitters go away, Uzbekistan will simply look to give as good an account of itself as possible and see what happens from there.
Uzbekistan’s knockout stage outlook
Not likely. Uzbekistan’s only hope will be to emerge as one of the eight third-place teams. But even that will be quite a feat.
Three Uzbekistan players you need to know
Eldor Shomurodov
Atlanta United fans will know this name for the club’s pursuit of him in 2024 and 2025. The 30-year-old captain comes into the tournament as the country’s top scorer in international play (44). He spent the 2025-26 season on loan from Roma to Turkish club BaÅŸakÅŸehir, where he was the league’s joint leading scorer with 22 goals. Needless to say, the hopes of Uzbekistan rest on Shomurodov’s right foot.
Abdukodir Khusanov
The world will be properly introduced to the 22-year-old Khushanov, one of the country’s brightest stars right now. In January 2025, he was sold by Lens to Manchester City for over US$46.6 million, making him the Premier League’s first Uzbek player. You don’t make a move like that unless you’ve got talent, so we’ll see how Khusanov can handle himself in an incredibly tough group.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev
Another youngster, the 22-year-old Fayzullaev, signed for BaÅŸakÅŸehir ahead of the 2025-26 season and capped 30 times with the national team. A few injuries last year and during the spring this year sidelined him for a bit, but a strong showing in the World Cup will go a long way in raising the profile of a promising talent.
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