MUSCAT, June 12
Oman's Red Warriors suffered to 3-0 loss against the hosts Uzbekistan in the opening match of both teams in group A of the Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup 2023, At Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent. The coach Branko Ivankovic’s men did not show their awaiting performance as they goes down fighting to Uzbekistan in the opener. The triumph meant, the hosts moved a step ahead and are inch closer to meet the topper of group B in the final while the send placed in each group will play the third and fourth playoff.
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan matched ended in a 1-1 draw in another earlier game of group A. The draw provided both teams one point in the tally. Oman will meet Tajikistan on Wednesday in their second match while the group topper will take on Turkmenistan. Red Warriors will conclude their group games against Turkmenistan on Saturday.
Uzbekistan, ranked 74th in the world, produced an excellent show in the beginning of the match against Oman as it was only seven minutes from the game start to score the opening goal by Jaloliddin Masharipov. The same player doubled the hosts lead as he netted the second goal in the 24th minute. Uzbekistan led 2-0 at half-time. Oman players tried to bounce back to the match in the second half but their attempts did not find the net. The captain of Uzbek team, Akbar Alijonov, sealed the win for his team as he scored the third goal in the dying minutes. Jaloliddin Masharipov was named as the most valuable player in the match.
Post the match, the head coach of Oman team, Branko Ivankovic congratulated Uzbekistan team for their victory. “ They deserved the win as they showed a top game, "I believe we have to prepare better for the next match against Tajikistan, winning the forthcoming match will be the target,” he added
The Croatian coach clarified that the team prepared well for the first game. “ The opponent’s preparation for the match was better than us. The domestic league in Uzbekistan is underway as their players showed top performance in the game,” he said
Taking part in the Central Asian Football Association (Cafa) Nations Cup 2023 will act as a great preparatory station for the upcoming crucial assignments in AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 finals and the qualifiers for Asian teams on road to the Fifa World Cup 2026 as well as the AFC Asian Cup 2027.
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