Uzbekistan vs Spain Preview & Prediction | Paris 2024 Olympics | Men’s Football | Group Stage
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Uzbek football has been on the rise in recent years with the senior team performing well in AFC competition and they are captained by main man Eldor Shomurudov at this summer’s Olympics. Spain’s senior side were recently crowned UEFA EURO 2024 champions and Santi Denia will be looking to take the Spanish one step further in the Olympics after winning the silver medal in Tokyo.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Wednesday 24th July, 2024, UK – 2:00pm / US ET – 9:00am / US PT – 6:00am
HOW TO WATCH THE PARIS OLYMPICS ON TV: UK – BBC is the main broadcaster while some event will be televised on Eurosport / US – NBC is the main broadcaster while some events will be shown on NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network and Telemundo
HOW TO WATCH THE PARIS OLYMPICS ONLINE: UK – BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website & Eurosport Player / US – Events can be streamed on the relevant streaming platforms of NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network and Telemundo
UZBEKISTAN PREVIEW: CONTINUING THE RISE
At the recent AFC U23 Championship earlier this summer, Uzbekistan reached the final with some comfortable and comprehensive victories against the likes of Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kuwait before then suffering a slender 1-0 defeat to Japan in the final, conceding a 91st minute decider having been much the better side at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Under the management of current Olympic Tashkent boss and former Uzbekistan international Timur Kapadze, the Uzbeks have a lot of experience in their squad, despite the natural age issues. For example, 11 of their 22-man squad have over 20 U23 caps and that doesn’t include their three overage players; Eldor Shomurudov, Oston Uronov and Husniddin Aliqulov.
SPAIN PREVIEW: AN EXCELLENT SIDE
The previous Spain side at the Olympics included players like Pedri and were coached by Luis de la Fuente. Now they will be hoping to emulate the quality with Santi Denia at the helm and his squad boasts two players, Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez, who were in the Spain squad as they won UEFA EURO 2024 earlier this month.
Captained by Abel Ruiz, now 24 and one of their overage players, Spain have suffered one defeat in seven since losing to England in the final of the UEFA U21 European Championships last summer. They have an abundance of quality throughout their squad, such as Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi at the back with Pablo Barrios and Samu Omorodion through the spine.
UZBEKISTAN VS SPAIN PREDICTION
Uzbekistan, as mentioned, have created a football culture that is beginning to make a few waves on the international scene with the pinnacle achievement being qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is an experienced squad in terms of games played at this age group, too. Spain, on the other hand, have become a winning machine with the senior side the current European champions, as well as UEFA Nations League winners, and that is born out of the success of their youth teams. Spain are among the favourites for gold in Paris so, whilst the Uzbeks will believe they can make the knockouts, a Spanish victory is to be expected.
UZBEKISTAN VS SPAIN TIP: SPAIN TO WIN
