In a month, the Uzbek football team will debut at the FIFA World Cup as the only representative from Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is an important achievement that underlines the positive dynamics of Uzbek football within the men’s and women’s national teams.
Uzbekistan is in a tough group, with three difficult opponents: Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Portugal. The good news for Uzbekistan fans is that the team is made up of players already present top leagues. The best example is Abdukodir Khusanov, who currently plays for Manchester City; in fact, Khusanov is the first ever Uzbek player in the English Premier League (EPL). At the time of writing, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach said Khusanov was “better” following an injury. He had “a hard knock against Beto when he played at Everton. He’s better,” Guardiola said recently.
According to Transfer marketwhich tracks the market value of players, Khusanov is valued at $41 million (€35 million). Due to his youth, skills and success within the EPL, it is no surprise that a recent profile of Khusanov by Athletics compared him to Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The article explains that Khusanov, 22, is the Uzbek team’s “best player, both defensively with his fast pace and exceptional reading of the game.”
In the meantime, Abbosbek Faizullaev plays for İstanbul Başakşehir in Türkiye, where he plays alongside Eldor Shomurodovthe country’s all-time top scorer and former player for Roma in Italy. Khusniddin Alikulov also plays in the Turkish Süper Lig, for Çaykur Rizespor.
The future looks bright for the Uzbek national team, as a new generation of footballers is on the rise. The country won the AFC U-17 Asian Cup in 2025playing nine against Saudi Arabia in the final.
As for the women’s national team, the country reached the quarterfinals of the recently concluded 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. The team made it out of the group stage but unfortunately lost in dramatic fashion against South Korea (6-0). The Central Asian country will host the Women’s Asian Cup 2029. Hopefully, playing in front of a home crowd will help the team, led by captain Lyudmila Karachik, go further. As with the men’s team, the future looks bright as the Uzbekistan U17 women’s team won the CAFA (Central Asian Football Association) Championship in Tajikistan in 2023.
Uzbekistan has a short but proud history in world sport. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the country won 13 medals, including eight gold, in sports including boxing, wrestling, judo and weightlifting. One of the highlights of these Olympic Games was Diyora Keldiyorovawho won the gold medal in the women’s judo category of 52 kg. She is the first Uzbek athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in judo and the first Uzbek woman to win gold at the Summer Olympics. The country has also won numerous medals at the Winter Olympics.
However, Uzbekistan is not (yet) globally known for its professional football teams or the achievements of its national teams. At the professional level, football teams participate in the Uzbekistan Super League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions Leagueorganized by the Asian Football FederationAsia’s most prestigious club competition. (Neighboring Kazakh professional teams participate in European football tournaments.) Unfortunately, Uzbek teams have not had much luck advancing in the AFC Champions League: during the 2025-2026 AFC tournament, the Uzbek representative, Nasaf Football Clubwas eliminated during the championship stage.
The development of Uzbek football is taking place in real time, as evidenced by the recent successes of Khusanov and the young teams who won the title. AFC U17 Asian Cup and CAFA U17 Championships. Of course, expectations must remain realistic.
Surviving the group stage of the next World Cup will be difficult: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo wants to make history in his last World Cup appearance, Colombia regularly reaches the latter stages, while the DRC counts players in the best English and Spanish teams. The June 23 meeting between Khusanov and Cristiano Ronaldo, when Uzbekistan takes on Portugal in Houston, will certainly be memorable.
As for the women’s team, qualifying for either the FIFA Women’s World Cup or the Olympics would be an achievement in itself, given that the country has never qualified for either.
The current decade could become the first golden age of Uzbek football, illustrated by two youth championships and participation in the next World Cup. Likewise, the successful hosting of the 2029 AFC Women’s Asian Cup will also hopefully encourage more Uzbek girls to take up the sport. It is not for nothing that football is known throughout the world as the king sport, and the national teams of Uzbekistan (men’s and women’s) have the opportunity to become real players in this beautiful sport.