World Cup Qualifying - Asia | Gameweek 10 | 2nd Leg

Jun 10, 2025 at 2.45pm UK

Uzbekistan vs Qatar

Match preview

After several years of failure, Uzbekistan will feature in the next edition of football's biggest tournament, having confirmed a top-two finish in Group A with a goalless draw against the United Arab Emirates on matchday nine.

Knowing that avoiding defeat at the Al Nahyan Stadium would secure their place, Timur Kapadze's team unsurprisingly adopted a defensive approach, spending much of the game on the back foot, and ultimately settling for a draw.

While the contest was dour, to say the least, Uzbekistan's celebrations at the final whistle were anything but, as they revelled in securing their first ever World Cup ticket.

The White Wolves have scored the fewest goals (11) of all the Asian teams that have already secured a place at the World Cup, but their defensive work has proven to be the difference; only Japan (three) and Australia (six) have conceded fewer goals.

Currently sitting in second place with 18 points from nine matches, two behind Iran, Uzbekistan could make further history by topping the group, although they would need results elsewhere to go their way as well as securing a win against Qatar.

The hosts on Tuesday have lost each of the last two competitive games against the visitors. The most recent of these was a 3-2 defeat in a five-goal thriller in November, where Lucas Mendes scored in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time to settle matters.

With two and a half years to go until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the host nation's chances of featuring in back-to-back tournaments are currently hanging in the balance as they prepare to enter October's fourth qualifying round after failing to secure a guaranteed place.

Four points ahead of Kyrgyzstan going into Thursday's clash with Iran, Julen Lopetegui's team showed great resolve to claim a 1-0 victory and give their new manager a winning start.

In their last match, the Maroons ended a run of 12 matches without keeping a clean sheet. This was a contributing factor to their rough patch, which ultimately saw Luis Garcia's stint come to an end.

Prior to this, Qatar had conceded 21 times in eight qualifiers, which was more than any other team, including North Korea (18), Kuwait (16) and China (20). All of these teams are currently at the bottom of their respective groups heading into the final matchday.

While Tuesday's game has no immediate bearing on the visitors' World Cup aspirations, the prospect of winning consecutive matches for the first time since March 2024 is surely exciting for a team that has been inconsistent over the last 10 months.

Recent Performance

Uzbekistan World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:WDWDD

Qatar World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:WLWLW

Team News

Uzbekistan's Oston Urunov was substituted after just 13 minutes of the match against Iran, and the winger is expected to miss Tuesday's game.

Farrukh Sayfiev also left the pitch early due to injury in the aforementioned game, but he is expected to play here, competing with Sherzod Nasrullaev for a place in the team.

Lucas Mendes, who is 34 years old, is ineligible to play any part for Qatar in this match after being sent off in the 3-1 defeat against Kyrgyzstan in March.

Boualem Khouki was the biggest beneficiary of Mendes' absence when he was handed a rare start last time, and the defender is expected to keep his place in the line-up.

Possible starting lineup

Uzbekistan possible starting lineup:

Yusupov; Ashurmatov, Khusanov, Alikulov; Sayfiev, Shukurov, Khamrobekov, Alizhonov; Masharipov, Fayzullaev, Shomurudov

Qatar possible starting lineup:

Barsham; Ahmed, Salman, Khoukhi, Miguel; Boudiaf, Madibo; Ganehi, Afif, Junior; Ali