"So I told them to really enjoy it, to appreciate everything since we arrived in Mexico," kata Cannavaro.

Melalui partisipasi perdana ini, Uzbekistan juga ingin memperkenalkan budaya dan filosofi bangsa. "It's to show people our culture, our philosophy," kata Cannavaro.

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Target utama mereka tetap menyajikan performa kompetitif dan mentalitas kuat.

"It's true that we are here for the first time, and of course we want to show people our mentality," jelas Cannavaro.

Untuk membendung agresivitas lawan, Cannavaro akan mengandalkan bek tengah muda potensial. "He knows how to control the situation, he knows how to control the pressure," katanya.

Pemain belakang yang kini berkarier di Manchester City itu dinilai memiliki kedewasaan bermain. "The players like a family behind him, he can play in every position," puji Cannavaro.

Cannavaro optimistis akan lebih banyak talenta Uzbekistan bermain di Eropa. "In the future, we will see more Uzbekistan players in Europe, I am sure about that," katanya.

Bermain di stadion legendaris seperti Estadio Azteca memberikan sensasi tersendiri. "You will get goosebumps when you enter this stadium.

Maradona and Pele made history here, it's like a dream for us," tambah Cannavaro.

Pertandingan ini diperkirakan menjadi tantangan berat bagi Uzbekistan. Mereka harus bermain tanpa pemain kunci Jaloliddin Masharipov yang cedera.

Sementara itu, Kolombia dapat menurunkan skuad terbaiknya. Pelatih Néstor Lorenzo mengandalkan visi James Rodríguez dan ketajaman Luis Díaz di lini depan.

Bagi pencinta sepak bola di Indonesia, seluruh pertandingan Piala Dunia 2026 dapat disaksikan melalui TVRI Nasional dan TVRI SPORT.