Uzbekistan U23: Technique like Russia, long-range shooting like Germany.

The last time Uzbekistan football achieved such resounding success was six years ago when their U16 team won the Asian Championship. Now, coach Ravshan Khaydarov's team is very close to winning the title. Their opponent – ​​the nickname of the "White Wolves" – is the team with the best fighting spirit among all the U23 teams participating in Jiangsu (China).

Technique like Russia, long-range shooting like Germany

These Central Asian teams were all influenced by Russian and Eastern European football, with players possessing excellent basic technical skills and often employing a short, fluid style of play. Later, with integration with European countries, many Uzbek players went abroad to play, and foreign coaches came to work here, making Uzbek football more diverse.

The battle between Khamdamov and Van Thanh was considered the decisive factor in the final match. Photo: AFC

A colleague of ours from Tashkent, the capital ofBefore the final match against Vietnam U23, Uzbekistan briefly summarized their opponent as having "the technique of Russia and long-range shooting like Germany".

Uzbekistan U23 currently boasts the strongest attack with 10 goals scored. They also possess a solid defense, having conceded only 2 goals.

In the quarter-finals and semi-finals alone, the Uzbekistan U23 team scored 8 goals, including 4 against the defending champions Japan U23 and 4 against the runners-up South Korea U23. Meanwhile, the Vietnam U23 team scored 7 goals but also conceded 7.

Uzbekistan U23's left winger Dostonbek Khamdamov currently holds the record for the most assists with 15 since the start of the tournament. No other player has a better record than the Uzbekistan U23 left winger.

In the 4-2-3-1 formation, coach Ravshan Khaydarov usually deploys only one central striker. With his decent height (1.82m), Urinboev often plays the role of a target man (decoy striker).

Khamdamov (left winger) and Javokhir Sidikov (attacking midfielder) have assisted more than half of Uzbekistan U23's goals (out of 10) so far.

Central midfielder Odiljon Xamrobekov was the player with the most successful passes in the tournament with 384, nearly 100 more than the second-placed Tarek Salman of Qatar U23 (292 passes).

Right winger Djasur Yakhshibaev and Azizjon Ganiev both unleashed powerful long-range shots, with goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-Mu (South Korea U23) being the victim after a strike from 27 meters.

I'm only worried about the referee.

Journalist Xamrobekov from this Central Asian country said: "There is an Uzbek prophet who predicted that at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, coach Ravshan Khaydarov's team will win."

Uzbekistan had little difficulty separating the three "pairs of chopsticks" from China, Japan, and South Korea before joining Vietnam, another country that uses chopsticks, for the final meal.

The U23 team's "general staff" is ready.

Uzbekistan U23 is considered to have an advantage playing in the cold, snowy conditions of Changzhou, China. Another equally important factor is that the AFC has announced that referee Ma Ning (China) will officiate the match between Vietnam U23 and Uzbekistan U23.

In the first leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-final, referee Ma Ninh made several biased decisions in favor of the home team Malaysia, but the Vietnamese team ultimately won with a score of 2-1.

Previously, at the 2012 AFF Cup, Ma Ning also refereed the match between the Vietnam national team and the Philippines national team in the group stage. This referee made several decisions that angered the Vietnamese players, ultimately leading to our 0-1 defeat. Many Vietnamese fans are worried about referee Ma Ning officiating this final match.

What coach Ravshan Khaydarov is most worried about is the fighting spirit of Van Thanh and his teammates, as well as the coaching experience of the "maverick" Park.

Up until now, the Uzbekistan U23 team has won too easily and has never faced a "do or die" situation, while Coach Park's team has had 5 matches with over 510 minutes of nail-biting action and 2 nerve-wracking penalty shootouts.

Not to mention, the "defeated" teams of U23 Qatar, U23 Iraq, U23 Australia, etc., are all formidable teams in the Asian region, not to be trifled with, even though the Central Asian prophet has spoken.