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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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'Kim Min-jae of Uzbekistan'Abdukodir Husanov (21, Manchester City) will make his first World Cup appearance.
Uzbekistan drew 0-0 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on the 6th (Korea time) in Group A of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. Uzbekistan, which held the second place in Group A after Iran (20 points) with five wins, three draws and one loss, secured its advance to the finals regardless of the results of the remaining one game, widening the gap with the third-place UAE (14 points). This is the first time Uzbekistan has reached the World Cup finals.
As a result, Husanov will also be able to make the World Cup finals. After moving from Lance (France) to Manchester City in January, Husanov succeeded in advancing to the English Premier League by signing a four-year contract for a transfer fee of 40 million euros. Even at an early age, he showed off his outstanding defensive skills and earned the nickname 'Uzbeck Kim Min-jae'. He was disappointed to not be able to overcome language problems after moving to Manchester City, but he played a key role in the Uzbek national team by playing consistently. There is a high possibility that he will also play as a member of the Uzbek defense in the North-China World Cup finals.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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The North-China World Cup is the first tournament in which the finals, which were held under the 32-team round of 16, will be expanded to the 32-team system of 48 countries. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was awarded 8.5 tickets to the finals. While Japan was the first to confirm its advance to the finals, Iran followed, and Uzbekistan won the ticket for the finals for the third time.
Uzbekistan, which missed the Asian qualifying round for the 1994 U.S. tournament soon after the Soviet Union's independence, made its Asian debut in the qualifying round for the 1998 French tournament. At that time, he was in a group with South Korea and faced off. Since then, he has consistently served as a dark horse on the Asian stage, but he has not made it to the World Cup finals. Success was strongly expected in the tournament, which expanded the number of countries that advanced to the finals, and eventually paid off.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
