Cannavaro Urges Uzbekistan to Play Without Fear in DR Congo World Cup Clash
Uzbekistan national team manager Fabio Cannavaro confirmed his squad will push hard for a victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo in their final World Cup group stage fixture.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference the Italian coach explained that the upcoming clash would present a completely different challenge compared to their earlier encounters against top-tier nations. Uzbekistan currently shares Group K with footballing heavyweights Colombia and Portugal who dominate the top two spots.
«Tomorrow’s match will be different because we have already played with two opponents of the highest level. The last game also turned out to be difficult and we carefully analysed it,» Cannavaro stated.
The manager emphasised that facing the African side serves as an important developmental milestone for the Uzbek players. He highlighted his ongoing efforts to shield the squad from external expectations, noting that he has tried to relieve psychological pressure from the athletes since his very first day in charge.
Tactical shifts and group permutations
The crucial Group K encounter is scheduled for Sunday June 28 at 4:30 am (GMT+5). Currently Uzbekistan sits at the bottom of the group with zero points while DR Congo holds third place with a single point.
According to reports from Reuters the Congolese squad is expected to adopt a highly aggressive approach to secure a vital win. In their previous matches the African team deployed a defensive 5-3-2 formation but head coach Sebastien Desabre has clearly signalled a tactical shift for this final group game. Both managers are now finalising their formations, player rotations and overall match strategies.
«Tomorrow our team will be organised in such a way that we can score, let’s be clear about that. We know what we need to do to progress,» Desabre confirmed to the press.
The Guardian notes that DR Congo must secure a victory to keep their tournament hopes alive. Meanwhile Uzbekistan requires a substantial, high-scoring win to stand any chance of advancing to the knockout stages. However the Central Asian republic could technically be eliminated from the competition before kick-off if third-placed teams in other groups secure enough points to knock them out of contention.
