Mirdjalal Kasimov: The Pride Of Bukhari State

KUALA LUMPUR - Former Uzbekistan midfield dynamo Mirdjalal Kasimov has insisted that despite Maksim Shatskikh’s bright start to the AFC Asian Cup, the Central Asians can take nothing for granted ahead of Wednesday’s make-or-break clash with China.

Shatskikh bagged two goals against Malaysia after returning from suspension and whilst Kasimov, now assistant coach to both the senior and under-23 teams, was delighted with the star striker’s display, he remains adamant that the Uzbeks have to stay focussed for a game they must win if they are to progress to the quarter-finals.

“It is true that Maksim is our key player and of course he was suspended for the game against Iran. I think in the match against the Malaysians you saw how good a player he is,” said the 46-year-old.

“But even with Maksim, the Chinese remain our nearest rivals to qualify from Group C. Because of this we must concentrate purely on that game. We definitely cannot afford to look ahead to the quarter-finals, we have to play China first and then we will see.

“There is no doubt that China are a good team and they have a lot of excellent players in their side. We will however prepare ourselves well for the game. Anything can happen.”

Uzbekistan’s 5-0 drubbing of co-hosts Malaysia came hot on the heels of their 2-1 loss to Iran and, according to Kasimov, has given his side a terrific psychological boost leading into the crunch encounter with China at the Shah Alam Stadium.

“We lost our opportunity to get some points against Iran but when thanks to the game against Malaysia, we have changed our mentality,” he explained.

“After our win, the players are feeling a lot happier than they did following the Iran match. Now of course we are looking forward to playing China and our team spirit is very high.”

Kasimov was also points out that Uzbekistan’s opening defeat could be put down to a case of first night nerves, tension that the Uzbeks have now well and truly put behind them.

“In our opening game against Iran we were quite nervous, that can happen in the opening game of any tournament. We definitely not use our opportunities to score,” he added.

“Thanks to our preparations though we are now ready for this latest test and we are ready to run for the entire 90 minutes.”