Uzbekistan holds the highest competitive results among teams from Central Asia. At the 2011 Asian Cup, Uzbekistan reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time. At other competitions such as the Asian Games, Uzbekistan won the gold medal in 1994 in Japan, while finishing as the runners-up at the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations in 1995. They qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2026.[2][3]
In 1928, the Uzbekistan national football team was created, taking place in the Spartakiade, which included representatives of some European countries. In this tournament, the national team of Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic held its first international match against Switzerland and won 8–4.
Until mid-1991, Uzbekistan was part of the USSR and had its own national team as well as the rest of the Union republics, which mostly played matches within teams of the USSR, in particular in football tournaments of the Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR. The Uzbekistan SSR national team participated in all draws of the Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR football tournaments, and in 1986 reached the final, losing to the Ukrainian SSR (modern Ukraine) team 1–0, winning the silver medal. Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan SSR was one of the six main centers of football development in the country, alongside Russia SFSR, Ukraine SSR, Belarus SSR, Georgia SSR and Armenia. The most powerful football clubs, as well as semi-professional and professional clubs were in the USSR Football League (Higher League, First League, Second League and Second League B) and USSR Cup. Nonprofessional clubs of the Uzbekistan SSR participated in the Uzbekistan SSR Championship and the Uzbekistan SSR Cup.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan gained independence, and a new Uzbekistan national team was organized. The national team held its first match in 1992, a game against Tajikistan, in the framework of the 1992 Central Asian Cup (the tournament was held once, initiated by FIFA). In 1992, Uzbekistan was also a member of the CIS national football team, which existed for one year and replaced the USSR national football team and instead participated in Euro 1992. The Uzbekistan national team did not play the following year.
1994 Asian Games Final starting lineup on 16 October 1994, in Hiroshima (Japan)
In the 1994 Asian Games, Uzbekistan were grouped with powerhouse Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Malaysia, alongside Hong Kong. After a 4–1 victory over the Saudis, Uzbekistan followed up with a 5–0 victory over Malaysia and a 1–0 win over Hong Kong before winning the group with a 5–4 win against Thailand. In the quarter-finals, Uzbekistan defeated Turkmenistan 3–0 to advance to the semi-finals where they faced South Korea. The Korean side included nine players that had already participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup; despite this, Uzbekistan shocked South Korea with a 1–0 victory to advance to the final, its first ever final since gaining independence from the Soviet Union. In their final game against China, Uzbekistan defeated the Chinese 4–2 to capture its first and only Asian honor two years after its creation.[4]
In the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, Uzbekistan was grouped with Japan, China and Syria, and were eliminated in the group stage. Uzbekistan's first-ever attempt to qualify for the World Cup was in 1998. Grouped with Yemen, Cambodia and Indonesia in the first stage, Uzbekistan won every match except for the away fixture against Indonesia. Shortly after, the Uzbeks played South Korea, Japan and the UAE, and failed to qualify for the tournament.[citation needed]
2000s
The 2000 AFC Asian Cup saw the Uzbeks with Japan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, gaining only a point against the latter with a draw. Uzbekistan participated in the first round in order to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and eventually made the second round. The group contained China, the UAE, Oman and Qatar, and the Uzbeks were unable to make any major breakthrough in the second round, losing twice to the UAE, and suffering two away defeats to China and Oman. An away draw to Qatar confirmed Uzbekistan's failure to qualify, despite a late win over already qualified China in the final match.[citation needed]
Uzbekistan failed to make further impact on the continental stage until they reached the last eight of the 2004 Asian Cup, topping their group after winning all matches, where they were beaten by Bahrain after a penalty shoot-out.[citation needed] The country would eventually defeat Iraq in the second qualifying round for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with goals from Maksim Shatskikh and Alexander Geynrikh sending them through to the last eight. They were knocked out in the final stage of the Asian qualification to the 2006 World Cup after losing on the away goals rule to Bahrain. The result was subject to controversy as three games were played; the first, a 1–0 win for Uzbekistan was wiped out after FIFA declared the result void after a mistake by Toshimitsu Yoshida, a Japanese referee.[5] The replay ended 1–1, and after the return finished 0–0, Uzbekistan were eliminated.
Uzbekistan national team supporters during a qualification match for the 2010 World Cup against Japan at Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent
After having three foreign coaches (German Hans-Jürgen Gede, Englishman Bob Houghton and Russian Valeri Nepomniachi) in three years, the country turned to former Uzbekistan Olympic team coach Rauf Inileev. During qualification for the 2010 World Cup, Uzbekistan advanced to the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers after winning their first four matches, but finished last in Group A of the final round behind favorites Australia, Japan, Bahrain and Qatar, with four points from eight matches.
In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, Uzbekistan ended in fourth place, their all-time best result in the tournament. After getting past the group stage and quarter-finals, the Uzbek team lost their first opportunity to reach the Asian Cup final when Australia thrashed them 6–0 in the semi-final game. Several days later, they were defeated again by South Korea in the third place match 3–2.[6]
In qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Uzbekistan advanced to Asia's fourth round after winning their group in the third round over Japan. Uzbekistan finished with 16 points (five wins and one draw), more than any other team in the third round, including an impressive 1–0 away win against Japan. In the fourth round, Uzbekistan finished third in Group A behind Iran and South Korea, and lost to South Korea (14 points) on goal difference, and would eventually play Jordan in the fifth round to determine the AFC participant in the intercontinental play-off. On 10 September 2013, with the two teams drawn at the end of the second leg, Jordan eventually progressed to the intercontinental play-off after winning 9–8 on penalties.
Uzbekistan continued their quest to head to the World Cup during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, but their campaign had been shattered with a 4–2 defeat to North Korea. However, the Uzbeks soon bounced back and won the last remaining matches to top the group and qualified to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as well as the last round. Once again, Uzbekistan in the last round, missed an opportunity when they finished fourth, behind Iran, South Korea and Syria, when Uzbekistan could only manage a 0–0 draw to the South Koreans in the last match.[7]
Uzbekistan started their 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign with a 2–1 victory over Oman and continued with a 4–0 win over Turkmenistan, which guaranteed Uzbekistan to progress from the group stage for the fifth consecutive time, despite ending with a 1–2 defeat to Japan in the last match. Facing Australia, defending Asian champions, Uzbekistan drew 0–0 after 120 minutes. In the penalty shootout, Australia prevailed with a 4–2 win.
2020s
In the second qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Uzbekistan suffered another disappointment by failing to qualify for the final round. The White Wolves accumulated five wins and three defeats. Moreover, Uzbekistan's failure was also compounded by the fact that North Korea, originally in Group H of the same round, surprisingly withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which FIFA and the AFC then ruled North Korea's results as null and void. This caused Lebanon to qualify ahead of Uzbekistan, since Lebanon's original results against North Korea were a draw and a loss.[8][9][10]
Uzbekistan took part in the third qualifying round for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Designated as the host country of Group C (due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia), the Central Asians won all three games and finished top of their group without conceding a goal, confirming their qualification for the tournament. Uzbekistan was placed in Group B with Australia, Syria and India. Prior to the tournament, Uzbek all-time top goalscorer Eldor Shomurodov sustained a leg injury, ruling him out of the squad. Uzbekistan drew 0–0 in their opening game against Syria and won against India 3–0. In their last match against Australia, Uzbekistan drew 1–1 to seal a place in the round of 16 as the second-placed team in their group. They faced Thailand, whom they managed to beat 2–1. In the quarter-finals, they faced hosts Qatar. With the match drawn 1–1 after extra time, Uzbekistan lost 3–2 in the penalty shoot-out.[11]
Uzbekistan vs. Bahrain at Pakhtakor Central Stadium in 2009
The Uzbekistan national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used is "The White Wolves" (Uzbek: Oq boʻrilar/ Оқ бўрилар),[16][17][18][19] while also being called "Asian Italy"[20] (Uzbek: Osiyo Italiyasi/ Осиё Италияси) due to the similarity of colors (white and blue) of Italy and Uzbekistan, as well as similar tactics (defensive football) of these teams.[21]
From its formation in 1992 until the end of 2012, the main home stadium of the Uzbekistan national football team was the Pakhtakor Central Stadium in Tashkent, built and opened in 1956. This stadium is also the venue for Pakhtakor Football Club. During the Soviet Union, this stadium was home for the Uzbekistan SSR national team. It was reconstructed in 1996, 2008 and 2012 and currently holds 35,000 spectators, previously at 55,000 spectators. The team also uses Milliy Stadium (formerly known as Bunyodkor Stadium), built in 2012 and accommodating 34,000 spectators. This stadium is also a home for the Bunyodkor Football Club.
The following players were called up for the 2025 Al Ain International Cup against Egypt and Iran on 14 and 18 November 2025, respectively.[28] Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2025 after the match against Iran.
U23 Included in the U-23 national team. PRE Preliminary squad standby. SUS Player suspended. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. RET Retired from the national team. WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons.
↑Бартольд В. В. Работы по истории и филологии тюркских и монгольских народов / В. В. Бартольд; — Перепеч. с изд. 1968 г. — М. — ISBN9785020183391 (в пер.)
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2 (19 January 2026) [1] 
Tajikistan 2–2 Uzbekistan 
Japan 8–1 Uzbekistan 
