Fabio Cannavaro to Leiden Uzbekistan in the first World Cup –

Uzbekistan hired former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro as a national team coach prior to his first World Cup performance next year.

Cannavaro, who supplied his country to the World Cup title of 2006, takes over the role with immediate effect, said the Uzbekistan Football Association on X.

The Central Asian nation qualified for the World Cup 2026 under local coach Timur Kapadze in June, but has since sought a manager with a greater international experience.

Before the recruitment of Cannavaro, Uzbekistan was connected to Joachim Löw, who led Germany to the title of 2014, and former Portugal and South Korea -Coach Paulo Bento.

Uzbekistan will make his World Cup debut at the tournament organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with important players who include Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov and Roma, Eldor Shomurodov, who is on loan in the Turkish competition.

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Most of the 52-year-old Cannavaro’s coaching experience since he retired as a player in 2011, has arrived in Asia, although he had short spells in Europe with Udinese and Benevento in Italy and the Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, which he left in April.

Cannavaro, who played for Italy 136 times, previously managed Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and led Guangzhou Evergrande to the Chinese Super League title in 2019, the same year that he briefly coached the China national team before he took off after two games.

Published on October 6, 2025