Uzbekistan begins its play-off campaign today

Today, 15 November, the Uzbekistan U-17 national team will face Croatia in the Round of 16 of the FIFA U-17 World Cup taking place in Qatar. The match will kick off at 20:45 Tashkent time.

Uzbekistan competed in Group G, starting the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Paraguay. In the second match, the team narrowly lost 1–2 to Ireland, but secured a decisive 6–1 win over Panama in the final group game, earning a place in the play-offs.

The Croatian U-17 side performed strongly in Group C, finishing second with two wins and one draw. They opened with a 0–0 draw against Senegal, went on to defeat the UAE 3–0, and claimed a 3–1 victory over Costa Rica in the last round.

The winner of the Uzbekistan U-17 vs. Croatia U-17 clash will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of the Italy vs. Czech Republic match.

It is worth noting that FIFA recently published a special feature on its official website about Uzbekistan U-17 head coach Islombek Ismoilov and team member Azizbek Abdumuminov.