Uzbekistan's national football team will play a series of friendly matches during the upcoming FIFA international window as head coach Fabio Cannavaro continues rebuilding the squad following the country's World Cup debut, the UFA said in a statement.
The Uzbeks are set to face Iran on September 24, with the original schedule naming Fergana's Istiqlol Stadium as the venue, though some regional outlets have more recently reported the match will instead be staged in Tashkent. The Uzbekistan Football Association had been negotiating with Iran's federation over a friendly for weeks, with the fixture only added to the calendar once both sides agreed on the date, organizational terms and venue.
The match continues one of Uzbekistan's most heated regional rivalries. Uzbekistan and Iran were drawn in the same group during 2026 World Cup qualifying, producing tightly contested meetings, including a goalless draw in Tashkent in October 2024. The sides also met twice in the buildup to the tournament, playing to a 2-2 draw in Tehran in March 2025 and a penalty-shootout draw in the United Arab Emirates last November.
On the Iranian side, federation head Mehdi Taj has said his team is scheduling three matches during the September window, one of them against an Asian side that competed at the World Cup — most likely Uzbekistan — alongside a game against Russia and a fixture against a yet-to-be-confirmed European opponent. Taj noted that Iran's federation was determined not to repeat the mistake of skipping high-level friendlies before this year's World Cup, and wants a more rigorous preparation cycle going forward.
For Cannavaro, the Iran match is part of a broader effort to evaluate his squad after Uzbekistan's difficult run at its first-ever World Cup, where the team lost all three group matches, falling to Colombia 3-1, Portugal 5-0 and DR Congo 3-1. One bright spot from the tournament was captain Eldor Shomurodov, whose goal against DR Congo was recognized by FIFA as one of the two best strikes of the World Cup.
Cannavaro has said he intends to use the coming friendlies to rejuvenate the squad, prioritizing players in strong current form over reputation, and to shift the team's tactical setup to a 4-3-3 system. The Iran game is expected to be just the opening test in a packed autumn schedule. Uzbekistan is also finalizing a friendly against Russia, provisionally set for September in Nizhny Novgorod, while a high-profile meeting with Argentina is being planned for September 30 in China, followed by a clash with South Korea on October 6.
Should the Argentina fixture be confirmed, it would rank among Uzbekistan's most high-profile friendlies in years, testing Cannavaro's squad against elite opposition on pace, pressure and individual quality.
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