Uzbekistan vs Spain, Olympics Football 2024, Today Match Prediction

Uzbekistan vs Spain Match Prediction & Analysis

European giants Spain face Asian representatives Uzbekistan in a Group C match at Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. Parc des Princes is the home stadium of Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain FC.

The Group C match will be the first time the teams will face each other in the Olympics. Spain, led by Santi Denia, qualified for the Olympics at the U-21 European Championship. They finished runners-up at the event, losing to England in the final. La Roja is also the silver medalist from Tokyo 2020, having fallen to Brazil in the final.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan will make its Olympic football debut. The White Wolves (or Uzbekistan) qualified for the event through the 2024 edition of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. They made it to the tournament final, but were heartbroken to lose to Japan.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Uzbekistan Preview

It's hard to fathom how a side like Uzbekistan has taken this long to make an appearance at the Olympics in football, given how good they have been in youth tournaments. In the recently concluded FIFA U17 World Cup, they managed to reach the quarterfinals and were beaten by the eventual finalists, France. In total, they have reached the quarterfinals of the U17 and U20 World Cups a combined four times. Maybe, this year at the Olympics is the time they make strides into the big leagues. 

Clubbed with Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt, Timur Kapadze's side will fancy their prospects of progressing to the next round if they perform well against Egypt and the Dominican Republic.  And it may be possible if certain players recreate the magic that we witnessed in the U23 Asian Cup. 

In the whole tournament, the White Wolves conceded only once, and it was made possible because of Lens’ defender, Abdukodir Khusanov, and holding midfielder and captain, Abdurauf Buriev. Asides from them, forward Khusayin Norachaev and goalkeeper Abdovokhid Nematov will be the players to look out for in the Uzbek squad. 

Timur Kapadze usually prefers a 4-3-3 formation, but, given the status of their opponents, he may resort to a more defensive formation in the opening game. 

Uzbekistan Probable Starting XI - Abdovokhid Nematov (GK); Saidazamat Mirsaidov, Abdukodir Khusanov, Husniddin Aliqulov, Mukhammadkodir Khamraliev (Defenders); Jasurbek Jaloliddinov, Abdurauf Buriev, Ibrokhim Ibrokhimov (Midfielders); Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Ruslanbek Jiyanov, Khusayin Norchaev (Forwards)

Spain Preview

La Roja has a distinct advantage over other teams in that many of its U-23 players have extensive experience of playing football at the highest levels, both internationally and at club level. Prime examples include Pau Cubarsi, Fermin Lopez, and Eric Garcia. 

Both Cubarsi (17) and Fermin (21) have already started several games for FC Barcelona in La Liga and were part of the squad for the Euros in Germany. He was Barcelona's second-highest scorer during the 2023-24 season. Similarly, at the age of 23, Garcia has played nearly   150 games for Manchester City, Barcelona, and now Girona.

Aside from the aforementioned stars, overage players such as Sergio Gomez and Abel Ruiz (aged 24), who were the top scorers for Spain in the U-21 European Championship, are likely to play a significant role in La Roja's prospects of altering the colour of the medal this time around. In terms of tactics, Santi Denia is expected to start with a 4-3-3 formation. 

Spain Probable Starting XI - Joan Garcia (GK); Eric García, Juan Miranda, Pau Cubarsí, Jon Pacheco (Defenders); Aimar Oroz, Adrián Bernabé, Sergio Gómez (Midfielders); Abel Ruiz, Diego López, Fermín López (Forwards)

UZBEKISTAN vs SPAIN
Winning Prediction

Only once have these two teams played each other; it was in the 2023 U17 World Cup, and the game ended with a scoreline of 2-2. Spain is the bookmakers' favourite to win this match, with odds of 1.85. Prior to the tournament, Spain U23 played matches against Argentina, Japan, and Egypt, emerging undefeated with one win and two draws.  In the meantime, Uzbekistan played against Mali twice and New Zealand once, but suffered a defeat and two draws. 

During the course of three games, the White Wolves conceded three times while in the Asian Cup, they only gave up one in the final versus Japan. On the other hand, Spain just conceded once. In general, Uzbekistan loves to attack, as is evident from the 14 goals they scored in the Asian Cup, the most by a team. However, Spain isn't a team that gives the ball away easily, and it is going to be difficult for the Uzbeks to score. 

Spain U-23 to Win (3-0)

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