In their first appearance in the men’s football tournament at the Olympics, Uzbekistan could easily have been overawed by the occasion — especially coming up against powerhouses Spain.
But after their first 90 minutes of football at the Games, the Uzbeks have shown they are not simply in France to enjoy the experience and make up the numbers.
Despite a 2-1 loss in their Group C opener against the 1992 gold medallists, Uzbekistan will depart Paris’ Parc des Princes with plenty of pride and, perhaps more importantly, enhanced belief that progress to the quarterfinals is not beyond them.
In what is, on paper at least, the toughest of assignments in the group, the White Wolves refused to be overly respectful of their opponents from the opening whistle on Wednesday.
They snapped at ankles and put their bodies fully into challenges, and even showed they could threaten early on in the contest.
Spain would eventually find their rhythm and took the lead in the 28th minute through a close-range finish by Marc Pubill at the far post yet — when Uzbekistan were awarded a penalty upon VAR review that was converted by captain Eldor Shomurodov to send both teams into the halftime break level on the scoreboard — few would have argued that it wasn’t a fair depiction of the match thus far.
The Spanish would eventually reclaim the lead two minutes after the hour mark when Sergio Gómez‘s clinical finish saw him make amends for failing to convert a penalty moments earlier, after his spot-kick straight down the middle was cleverly saved by Abduvohid Nematov in midair with his right leg.
Uzbekistan would try their hardest to force a draw and caused Spain a few nervous moments towards the end, although they were just unable to find a second equaliser as the class and the experience of the opposition proved crucial.
Uzbek football has waited for two decades to feature at the Olympics after becoming an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member in 1993, two years after gaining independence.
At the first time of asking, they have shown they belong on the stage.
Talented young attackers Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Jasurbek Jaloliddinov both showed glimpses of quality despite coming up against far more-illustrious opponents, while the likes of Mukhammadkodir Khamraliev and Abdurauf Buriev looked up for the fight.
It also did not hurt that the White Wolves had established senior players in their ranks, with Roma striker Shomurodov leading valiantly from the front even if he did not receive plenty of service, while Turkey-based centre-back Husniddin Aliqulov was a handy last line of defence.
Within Asian football, Uzbekistan have long been viewed as a sleeping giant. They are not yet at the level of Japan, South Korea, Iran or Saudi Arabia — but there is every reason for them to believe they can get there.
They have been no strangers to producing talent good enough to make the grade in Europe for some time now and there is real familiarity and cohesion in this Olympic team that has largely been playing together for several years now and well led by coach Timur Kapadze, whose reputation is ever growing.
After showing they can match it with the best, the White Wolves now have to prove they can beat the rest.
Egypt are up next on Saturday, followed by their Group C finale against Dominican Republic three days later. Both would already have been identified as winnable matches ahead of the tournament.
Yet, after an impressive display in defeat to Spain, Uzbekistan will now certainly be looking to do just that — especially given how serious they look in making their mark on their Olympic football debut.
