For an hour in Atlanta, it looked as though Uzbekistan’s World Cup story might yet have an improbable final chapter, but a flurry of goals in the final 25 minutes saw Fabio Cannavaro’s side handed another harsh reality check.
The White Wolves threw away a first-half lead to lose 3-1 to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, exiting their first World Cup with three defeats from three games and conceding 11 goals – more than any team at the tournament apart from Tunisia and Iraq. Meanwhile, Congo advanced to the knockout stage for the first time in their history, returning to Atlanta to face England on Wednesday.
The meeting between two nations making only their second and first World Cup appearances respectively offered a study in contrasting approaches to building a national team. Around 85% of the Congolese squad was born outside the country, mainly in France, Belgium and England, whereas Uzbekistan’s entire 26-man squad is homegrown.
The Congolese have been one of the surprise packages of this tournament, and were unlucky not to get more than one point from the opening two games. They came here wearing red rather than their usual cobalt blue, knowing that a win would see them through to the next round. Uzbekistan needed an improbably large victory to progress and were playing largely for pride.
But it was the Uzbeks who made a lightning start. Eldor Shomurodov had the ball in the net almost straight from the kick-off, only for it to be ruled out for offside.
The Başakşehir man, who finished top scorer in the Turkish league last season, had endured a quiet tournament until this game, cutting a very lonely figure against Colombia and Portugal. He was sharp here, though, elegantly chipping over a hopelessly marooned Lionel Mpasi to make it 1-0, the first time Uzbekistan had led a game all tournament.
Shomurodov spurned a chance to double the lead early in the second half, once again attempting to chip the goalkeeper when a simpler finish might have sufficed.
That second effort was largely against the run of play. After such a bright start, Uzbekistan retreated deeper and deeper into their own half as momentum built for Congo. The White Wolves were fortunate to reach the interval ahead after Nathanaël Mbuku had a superb equaliser ruled out following a VAR review for a foul in the build-up, a soft decision that prompted widespread criticism.
Congo missed several good chances in the second half, and with half an hour to go, Uzbekistan might have felt it was their day. Once again however, they demonstrated their capacity for self-destruction at the back. In the 68th minute, an innocuous, hopeful ball was tossed into the Uzbek box. The team’s poster boy, Abdukodir Khusanov attempted to clear it but instead caught the outstretched leg of Yoane Wissa, leaving the referee little choice but to point to the spot. Wissa converted without fuss.
Once the dam broke, Uzbekistan capitulated. Ten minutes later, substitute Fiston Mayele deftly flicked home after Meschack Elia’s effort was deflected into his path. A low, long-range effort from Wissa finished the game off in stoppage time, sparking wild Congolese celebrations.
Image: TCA
For Uzbekistan, this tournament has exposed the gap that still exists between dominating at youth level in Asia and competing against seasoned international sides. For a side built on solidity and coached by one of the greatest defenders of his generation, shipping so many goals was not how they would have hoped their World Cup debut would end.
In his post-match press conference, Cannavaro said he was happy with the intensity of the first half performance, but “after the break we suffered too much and did not work together”. He described the team’s reversion to playing long balls as a reason for their fatigue. “If we don’t control the ball … you lose energy, you lose confidence,” he said.
Several of the Uzbek journalists in the room were critical of Cannavaro and the side, causing him to hint that expectations had been rather inflated. “I told you this before,” Cannavaro told one journalist, “people who thought we could beat Congo or Colombia, they made a mistake. The World Cup is brutal. You’re coming up against the best players in the world … Congo have many players who are playing in the best five leagues in Europe. We have one.”
“We need to understand the level of Uzbekistan’s football,” he said. “We need to continue investing money in academies, this is the only way to try to ensure that Uzbekistan keep arriving at the world cup over the next 20-30 years.”
Image: TCA
