“Pleased with my players’ mentality” – Cannavaro

On November 18, the Uzbekistan national football team won the international friendly tournament held in Al-Ain, UAE. Following the victory over Iran in a penalty shootout, head coach Fabio Cannavaro shared his thoughts.

“Winning is always enjoyable, and it makes both players and fans happy. The match against Iran wasn’t easy; you always have to fight. Iran is a very strong team, and we couldn’t afford to relax. In the first half, we controlled the game and played well, but we didn’t convert three good opportunities. We didn’t score in the second half, and the game went to penalties. The opponent didn’t create chances in front of our goal. After the red card, the match became more difficult, but I’m pleased with my players’ mentality. Even with one player less, we didn’t give the opponent any opportunities,” Cannavaro said at the post-match press conference.

Cannavaro also spoke about the newly added chef and nutritionist for the national team.

“They will definitely help us. The quality of food might seem minor, but it can lead to better results over time. However, I can’t say that we won because the nutritionist joined,” he noted.

Regarding the team’s success in the penalty shootout, Cannavaro explained:

“We trained for penalties and identified which players were best suited to take them. Then I made my selections. Penalty shootouts can go either way, but today we were better than Iran and brought the trophy home.”

For context, Uzbekistan defeated Egypt 2-0 and beat Iran in the penalty shootout to win the Al-Ain international friendly tournament.