Uzbekistan will set out to preserve their unbeaten record since the turn of the year in their final World Cup qualifier against Qatar at the Milliy Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

The home side have already booked their place in the 2026 showpiece but have the opportunity to qualify as group winners, while the visitors, who currently sit fourth, can also finish one spot higher in third with a win here.

Match preview

Off the back of several years of failure, Uzbekistan will feature in the next edition of football's biggest tournament after confirming a top-two finish in Group A following a goalless draw against the United Arab Emirates in matchday nine.

Knowing they only needed to avoid defeat at the Al Nahyan Stadium to get the job done, Timur Kapadze's men unsurprisingly took the conservative route and were on the back foot for large chunks of the game en route to a share of the spoils.

While the contest was dour, to say the least, Uzbekistan's celebration at the sound of the full-time whistle was anything but boring as they revelled in the delight of securing a first-ever World Cup ticket.

The White Wolves have scored the fewest goals (11) of all Asian teams to have already booked a guaranteed spot for the World Cup, but their work at the other end has proven to be the difference, with only Japan (three) and Australia (six) conceding fewer goals.

Sitting second with 18 points from nine matches so far, two behind Iran, Uzbekistan can make further history by finishing top of the pile, although they would need results elsewhere to go their way as well as all three points against Qatar.

Tuesday's hosts have lost each of the last two competitive games against the visitors, most recently a 3-2 defeat in November's five-goal thriller where Lucas Mendes struck in the 12th minute of second-half stoppage time to settle matters.

Two and a half years since hosting the 2022 World Cup, Qatar's chances of featuring in back-to-back tournaments currently hang in the balance as they prepare to enter October's fourth qualifying round after failing to secure a guaranteed berth.

Four points ahead of Kyrgyzstan leading up to Thursday's clash against Iran, Julen Lopetegui's men showed great resolve to claim a 1-0 triumph and hand their new manager a winning start to life at the helm of affairs.

En route to victory last time out, the Maroons ended a run of 12 matches without keeping a clean sheet, which was a contributing factor to the rough patch that ultimately saw Luis Garcia's stint come to an end.

Qatar had conceded 21 times in eight qualifiers prior, more than any other team, including North Korea (18), Kuwait (16) and China (20), all of whom are bottom of their respective groups heading into the final matchday.

While Tuesday's game has no immediate bearing on the visitors' World Cup aspirations, winning consecutive matches for the first time since March 2024 is surely an exciting prospect for a team who have blown hot and cold over the last 10 months.

Uzbekistan World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:

Uzbekistan form (all competitions):

Qatar World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:

Qatar form (all competitions):

Team News

Uzbekistan's Oston Urunov lasted just 13 minutes before he was substituted off against Iran, and the winger is largely expected to sit out Tuesday's encounter.

Farrukh Sayfiev also came off with an injury scare in the aforementioned game but should be fine to feature here, fending off competition from Sherzod Nasrullaev.

Thirty-four-year-old Lucas Mendes is ineligible to play any part for Qatar in this one after receiving his marching orders in March's 3-1 defeat against Kyrgyzstan. 

Boualem Khouki was the biggest beneficiary of Mendes's absence, as he was handed a rare start last time out, and the defender should keep his place in the lineup.

Uzbekistan possible starting lineup:

Yusupov; Ashurmatov, Khusanov, Alikulov; Sayfiev, Shukurov, Khamrobekov, Alizhonov; Masharipov, Fayzullaev, Shomurudov

Qatar possible starting lineup:

Barsham; Ahmed, Salman, Khoukhi, Miguel; Boudiaf, Madibo; Ganehi, Afif, Junior; Ali

We say: Uzbekistan 2-1 Qatar

Uzbekistan are on a high at the moment and will be confident of securing a positive result on home turf, where they have not lost in two years.

We are anticipating an exciting affair here with the home side doing enough to edge out their visitors and come away with maximum points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Adepoju Marvellous

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