Among the countries of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is on the verge of successfully completing the third stage of the regional qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup. The chances of our footballers qualifying for the World Cup are rated very highly before the two matches.
The Kazakhstan national team has just started its journey towards North America. Our neighbors played their first two matches away, losing to Wales 1:3 and defeating Liechtenstein 2:0.
After the victorious match, Kazakhstan's national team head coach Ali Aliyev, while evaluating the successes of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan players, stated that if Kazakhstan had played in Asia, it could easily qualify for the World Cup.
Aliyev's statement led to a stir among Uzbek and Kazakh fans. The sports.kz website, which covers Kazakh football, highlighted the fans' reactions to the head coach's opinion on social media. Here are some of their comments:
“South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia are ahead of us.”
“What kind of fairy tales are you telling us, Aliyev?”
“Kazakhstan should not move to Europe and should remain in Asia.”
“If we barely beat Liechtenstein, which is made up of guards and taxi drivers, it doesn't mean we will definitely qualify for the World Cup from Asia. We might not even qualify from Antarctica. Because we could lose to penguins. They have four legionnaires playing, we say.”
“Fizruk, take a look at the world ranking!”
“North Korea – Kazakhstan 2:0.”
“Let the Uzbek brothers answer this question.”
“Uzbekistan is one head above our national team!”
“History comes down to the statement that if Messi were Kazakh.”
“If we had played in the Oceania region, we would have definitely qualified for the World Cup.”
“My dear, it's been a while since Asian football reached its peak!”
“What are you saying? We barely beat Liechtenstein.”
“The Kyrgyz are fine, but the Uzbeks are showing their level in Europe too.”
“In Asia, there are Japan, South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Qatar. Now football is also rapidly developing in Kyrgyzstan. There is no football in Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan can easily win.”
“Uzbekistan has already shown who is stronger in their last match against Kazakhstan.”
“If Uzbekistan qualifies for the World Cup, some Kazakh specialists will call it a coincidence. If Uzbekistan makes a splash at the World Cup, those specialists will say it was just luck. Then if they go to the World Cup again, they will say sometimes it happens. Instead of selling words, focus on your work in football and do better.”
“Did he hit his head? One Satpayev said he was one head above Husanov. Now he says we could easily qualify for the World Cup from Asia. Is this the euphoria after beating Liechtenstein? First, beat North Korea, which is at the bottom of Uzbekistan's qualifying group, then speak up loudly!”
“He feels like he just beat the Netherlands or Portugal.”
“Calm down a bit, our national team lost 0:2 to North Korea, and North Korea lost to all its opponents in its group. Based on this, know your level!”
It is worth noting that the national teams of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have faced each other seven times. In the first match between the two neighboring countries, the Kazakhs came out on top. In the remaining six matches, the Uzbeks recorded three victories and three draws.
