Cannavaro Shoulders the Blame for Uzbekistan’s Heavy World Cup Defeat
Fabio Cannavaro has shielded his players from criticism after Uzbekistan suffered a bruising 5-0 defeat against Portugal in World Cup Group K. Despite the heavy loss in Houston on Tuesday the Italian manager is adamant that his debutant side will grow from the bitter lesson.
The Central Asian nation is currently on the verge of an early tournament exit. Having already fallen to a 3-1 defeat against Colombia they now face a must-win clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo this Saturday to keep their faint hopes of reaching the round of 32 alive.
Facing the press the 2006 World Cup-winning captain was quick to deflect any negativity away from his squad. He stressed that the tactical errors were entirely his own doing rather than the fault of his inexperienced team who are competing on the global stage for the very first time.
«All my life I have taken responsibility, as a player and as a coach,» Cannavaro stated. «If we lost 5-0, it is because today I made mistakes, and not them.»
The match might have taken a significantly different trajectory had Azizjon Ganiev’s spectacular strike not been disallowed for an infringement in the build-up. Uzbekistan were 2-0 down at the time and the referee’s decision proved to be a crushing psychological blow for the underdogs. Admitting the setback severely derailed their momentum Cannavaro highlighted how well his team had been competing up to that point.
«The goal that was disallowed really had an impact on our confidence,» he revealed. «It was a shame because we started playing just as we did against Colombia, we were playing boldly.»
Moving forward the manager wants his players to embrace the challenge without fear of making mistakes. He continues to urge them to play with bravery on the international stage and trust their footballing instincts as they look to build a solid foundation for the future.
