UZBEKISTAN
Head Coach: Ravshan Khaydarov
Player To Watch: Zabikhillo Urinboev
Uzbekistan are yet another side in this particular group who qualified as group winners. They sealed easy wins over Lebanon and Nepal to put themselves in a comfortable position heading into the final match against UAE. But just when most people expected them to pick up their first defeat, the Uzbeks pulled off a stunning 2-0 victory to secure their spot in the tournament.
There’s a wealth of attacking-minded players in this squad but the focus will certainly be on Zabikhillo Urinboev, the man who was ever-present for them during the qualifiers.
“Group A teams are somewhat similar in terms of strengths, potential and tactics,” Khaydarov said. “We know enough about China and Qatar because we’ve played them in friendly matches in the past. Then you have Oman, which is also a strong team because they qualified by beating Iran in their group.
“In general it’s difficult to pick a favourite for this tournament because I think every team has a shot at winning it. But it all depends on how well they’ve prepared for it and how they start their first match of the tournament.”
Trivia!
Uzbek star Zabikhillo Urinboev was a joint-top scorer at the AFC U-19 Championship in 2014 with five goals in five games.