The key facts

  • The friendly match Russia — Uzbekistan will take place on November 12, kicking off at 18:00 Moscow time
  • Agent Dzhamal Akayev said there is great interest in the match in Uzbekistan
  • On November 17, Russia will play Venezuela in Krasnodar

Match during the November training camp

The Russian national team, led by Valery Karpin, will play a friendly match against the Uzbekistan national team on November 12; the opening whistle will sound at 18:00 Moscow time. This is the first of two matches of the November training camp: on November 17, the Russians will face Venezuela in Krasnodar.

Interest in Uzbekistan and players familiar to the Russian public

Football agent Dzhamal Akayev said that there is currently great interest in the upcoming match in Uzbekistan. According to him, the attacking players of the Uzbekistan national team — Shomurodov, Fayzullaev, Norchaev, Zhiyanov and Jasurbek Jaloliddinov — are more familiar to Russian fans, since at various times they played in the RPL and FNL. In midfield, the Uzbeks field the foreign-based players Ganiev, Rakhmonaliev and Khamrobekov. “I think an interesting match awaits us,” Euro-Football.Ru quotes the agent as saying.

Context: recent results and the suspension

In their recent matches, the Russian national team beat Iran 2:0 on September 29, defeated Namibia 6:0 on October 3, and drew 3:3 with Nigeria on October 6. Russian clubs and national teams have been suspended from tournaments under the auspices of FIFA and UEFA since February 2022. On February 2, 2026, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that the suspension had not produced the desired result and that the question of the return of Russian teams needed to be considered; however, according to The Times, the FIFA Council does not intend to consider admitting the Russians due to fears of criticism from European countries.