00:0120 years after lifting the World Cup as Italy's captain, Fabio Cannavaro is chasing a different kind of football dream.
00:09As head coach of Uzbekistan's national team, he is preparing the players for the country's first-ever appearance at football's
00:16biggest tournament.
00:17A milestone generations of supporters have waited to see.
00:20Few people understand what the World Cup means better than Cannavaro.
00:24The World Cup is something that as a football player is a dream, as a football player is the most
00:30important tournament, and to participate there is a privilege.
00:35You need to be enjoyed, you need to be happy to participate in this tournament.
00:40Cannavaro's experience is one thing, expectations are another.
00:43While he knows what it takes to compete on football's biggest stage, many of his players are preparing for a
00:49moment no Uzbek footballer has experienced before.
00:52What has impressed him most, he says, is their determination to improve and their willingness to embrace the challenge ahead.
00:59You know, it's the first time we go to the World Cup, it's the first time, you know, I approach
01:06to this kind of tournament.
01:11I saw many players with very good ambition, I saw them, they want to learn, they want to improve.
01:17The road ahead will not be easy. Uzbekistan's group includes some of football's most established nations.
01:23But Cannavaro believes the World Cup has a habit of producing surprises.
01:28I think it's a very tough stage, because Colombia and Portugal, they are the first 20 top teams in the
01:35world.
01:36In Congo, many players play in Liga 1, in Premier League, so it will be tough.
01:44And, you know, during the World Cup, you cannot say one is stronger than the other, because it's the World
01:50Cup.
01:50For the players, the focus is on embracing the occasion rather than the pressure.
01:55Midfielder Otobiek Shukurov says the team wants to enjoy the experience
01:59while showing the world how far Uzbek football has come.
02:09Competition within the squad has intensified its players' battle for a place in the final selection.
02:15For younger members of the team, the stakes could hardly be higher.
02:33As Uzbekistan moves closer to its World Cup ambitions, football here is increasingly being seen as part of a broader
02:40national transformation,
02:41one focused on international visibility, and with growing public attention around the national team.
02:48Many supporters now believe qualification is no longer just an aspiration, but a realistic target.
02:54Rushana Lekbarova, Euronews, Tashkent.
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