Uzbekistan national team head coach Fabio Cannavaro and captain Eldor Shomurodov spoke ahead of the World Cup match against DR Congo, stating that the team will do everything possible to secure their first tournament victory.

Cannavaro noted that DR Congo is a very strong team with great experience and good physical preparation. However, he emphasized that Uzbekistan will try to achieve the desired result: "We will do everything possible to win. Tomorrow's match will be different from the previous ones, as we have two games behind us against the highest level opponents. The last match was also difficult, and we thoroughly analyzed it."

The coach separately explained why Abduvohid Nematov started against Portugal. According to him, Utkir Yusupov performed well in the first game, but the staff wanted to give another goalkeeper a chance: "We have three top-class goalkeepers. I try to give each one a chance, as this is a huge and extremely important experience for the guys."

Cannavaro also stated that the team continues to grow through matches against the strongest opponents. He said that from the first days of work, he tried to relieve the players of excessive psychological pressure: "Even after the draw, I told them that they need to play without unnecessary tension. Tomorrow we will try to maximize our opportunities and do everything to win."

Team captain Eldor Shomurodov said the main goal is to please the fans. He reminded that Uzbekistan has already scored its first World Cup goal and now must fight for the first victory: "At the same time, we must not forget about defense. The desire to score a goal does not mean we should neglect defense. The most important thing is to achieve victory. Our main goal is to show organized football and win."

He also thanked the fans for their support at the stadiums and at home in Uzbekistan: "We felt their support everywhere – both at the stadium and at home in Uzbekistan. We sincerely thank them and will try to please them in the next match."

The match between Uzbekistan and DR Congo will take place on June 28 in Atlanta. The match starts at 04:30 Tashkent time. Podrobno.uz will broadcast the key moments of the match.

Earlier it was reported that Uzbekistan now needs a big win over DR Congo to keep their chances of reaching the World Cup playoffs.

Source: podrobno.uz