'World Cup is brutal', says Cannavaro after Uzbekistan exit

Italy great says Uzbekistan must invest in youth after losing all three matches on World Cup debut

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - DR Congo v Uzbekistan - Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US - Jun 27, 2026 Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro looks dejected after the match as they are eliminated from the World Cup REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Uzbekistan manager Fabio Cannavaro knows all about the beauty of the World Cup, having led Italy to success as captain, but after seeing his side lose all three games and exit the tournament, he reminded people of his warning about how brutal it can be.

Cannavaro's team came into Saturday's final Group K game on the back of defeats by Colombia and Portugal in which they conceded eight goals and his side fell to a 3-1 loss against Democratic Republic of Congo, who reached the knockout rounds.

The Italian coach was asked why he was smiling after the 5-0 defeat by Portugal and again following the DR Congo loss.

"You think I'm not nervous, I'm not angry? I don't feel good because I don't like to lose," Cannavaro told reporters.

"We made some mistakes, of course, but I cannot complain about my players. I never will complain about my players because I know and I told you, you were in the press conference and you know what I said the first day when we saw the draw.

"The World Cup is brutal. They gave everything? Yes. They are sad in the changing room. Wow, my friend, believe me. They suffer more than anyone in Uzbekistan."

Captain Eldor Shomurodov gave Uzbekistan the lead in a World Cup match for the first time but, after holding out for over an hour, they conceded three goals late on.

"In today's match the fear of winning crept in," Cannavaro said. "We went into the dressing room at halftime and when we came back out, I already told them, we needed to keep raising the tempo and keep our defensive line higher.

"I told them how to play and what to do, because Congo were pushing their wing-backs onto our full-backs, which meant there was a lot of space to attack behind them.

"Instead, we kept coming short to receive the ball with our backs to goal, and in matches like this, 99 times out of 100 you lose the ball that way."

Cannavaro also had a message for the millions of Uzbekistan fans after their debut World Cup ended in disappointment.

"We have to understand that Uzbekistan football needs to improve," he said.

"Uzbekistan football needs to continue investing money in academies, investing money in youth players, because it's the only way to try to have Uzbekistan in the World Cup in the next 20-30 years."