An outside bet for the Asian Cup?

Uzbekistan to get to the semi finals?

The Uzbeks could be an outside bet for a semi-final place. Just missed out on World Cup qualfication last time, plus they have seven players playing in leagues outside their own country.

Admittedly not all are in the top leagues but I reckon they have a chance. In agroup with Iran and China, they could get past a Chinese team which are up and down at the moment.

Uzbekistan national coach Rauf Inileyev has included seven overseas-based players including Dynamo Kiev striker Maksim Shatskikh in his 23-man squad for the Asian Cup.
Joining Shatskikh in the Uzbekistan squad are defenders Vitaliy Denisov of Ukranian side Dnipro and Alexey Nikolaev of Kazakhstan’s Aktobe, midfielders Aziz Ibragimov of Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava and Marat Bikmaev of Russian side Rubin Kazan, and forwards Ulugbek Bakaev of Tobol of Kazakhstan and Pavel Solomin of Saturn Moscow Oblast.
The majority of Inileyev’s squad are from the Uzbek league’s top two sides with reigning champions Pakhtakor supplying eight players including midfielder Server Djeparov and current leaders Neftchi providing three.



Any chance of a top four finish?