UK U-17 Vs Uzbekistan U-27 Preview: Challenges To Face Productive Teams

England U-17 will encounter serious obstacles in the round of 16 of the 2023 U-17 World Cup (doc. FIFA).

JAKARTA - England U-17 will face Uzbekistan U-17 in the last 16 of the 2023 U-17 World Cup. This match will actually be a big challenge for The White Wolves, the nickname Uzbekistan U-17, which qualified thanks to the best third-placed status.

The meeting of the two teams will be held at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS), on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 15.30 WIB. In that match, England U-17 had qualified capital because it was the winner of Group C who pocketed six points.

With a smooth move until the round of 16, The Young Lion had a big mission to win tickets to the last eight. They are also confident because they are listed as the most productive team in the group phase with a total score of 13 goals.

However, 10 of England's 13 U-17 goals were created against New U-17 Caledonia, the weakest team in Group C. The sharpness of The Young Lions was actually less visible when facing stronger opponents.

England U-17 only narrowly won 3-2 over Iran U-17 in the second match of Group C. They then fell in the hands of Brazil U-17 with a score of 1-2 in the group's last match.

If it does not immediately fix the trend of performance, the UK U-17 will face fierce resistance from Uzbekistan U-17 to fight for the top eight tickets.

The Uzbekistan U-17 camp could threaten the UK U-17 movement. However, they are faced with the fact that the quality is far below the opponent.

Passing the group stage through the third best ranking path is not a flashy achievement. Therefore, The White Wolves are aware of the need to improve the quality of the team and have a high fighting spirit. In addition, Uzbekistan U-17 requires a special strategy to reduce the Young Lions.

"Yes, every game feels like a final for us, until the real finals. That's very important for us. I believe we will win and get rid of England U-17."

"England U-17 is indeed a strong team, but we will win this match and continue to advance in the knockout stages. They do have extraordinary players on a team or individual basis. We respect them."

"One of the most popular and best teams in the world. However, as I said, we already have a plan. Of course we will implement the plan to win this match," said Uzbekistan U-17 coach Jamoliddin Rakhmatullaev.

Despite the specific strategy, it seems that Uzbekistan U-17 really wants to have its own advantages. The aspect in the spotlight of Jamoliddin is player fitness.

He believes that the recovery time of his foster children is sufficient so that he will appear excellent against The Young Lions.

"We have enough time to recover. That's why we won't do much rotation. There will only be changes in a few positions to strengthen the team," he said.

In an effort to reduce England U-17, Uzbekistan U-17 can take advantage of the presence of mainstay players in the front sector, namely Amir Saidov. He used to occupy the spearhead position in the 4-2-3-1 formation.

So far, the trust given by Jamoliddin Rahkmatullaev as coach has always been well paid by Amir. He has recorded a total of three goals.

Torehan Amir Saidov made him one of the top goalscorers of the 2023 U-17 World Cup. He was only one goal behind the interim leadership, Kaua Elias (Brazil U-17) and Rento Takaoka (Japan U-17).

Opportunities to add goals are still wide open because Amir is predicted to add to the scoring against England U-17 in the round of 16. Especially if Uzbekistan U-17 successfully reduces its opponent's aggressiveness.