On the night of April 20, the Uzbekistan U17 team won the 2025 AFC U17 Championship after defeating Saudi Arabia U17 in the final. It is worth mentioning that coach Islombek Ismoilov's team won the championship in an unbelievable scenario when they played with one less player against their opponent.
Sarsenbaev and Abdukarimov received red cards in the 40th and 45+2nd minutes, forcing U17 Uzbekistan to play with only 9 men. Despite the disadvantage in terms of numbers, U17 Uzbekistan still knew how to "overcome difficulties" and defeat their opponents with a score of 2-0, thereby winning the championship in this year's tournament.
U17 Uzbekistan also scored a series of impressive achievements. Accordingly, Mr. Islom Ismoilov is the youngest coach at the 2025 U17 Asian tournament. Born in 1992, this coach won the championship with U17 Uzbekistan when he was 33 years old.
The reigning champion is the only team to win 6 matches at the U17 Asian tournament 2025. They won U17 Thailand (4-1), U17 China (2-1), U17 Saudi Arabia (3-0), U17 UAE (3-1), U17 North Korea (3-0), U17 Saudi Arabia (2-0). U17 Uzbekistan scored 17 goals (an average of 2.83 goals/game) and conceded 3 goals.
In addition, the Central Asian team also received many noble titles of the tournament. Striker Asilbek Aliev received the title of "Gunners" after scoring 5 goals. The title of "Best Goalkeeper" belongs to goalkeeper Nematulloh Rustamjonov of U17 Uzbekistan.
With the 2025 U17 Asian Championship and a ticket to the 2025 U17 World Cup finals, coach Ismoilov believes that Uzbek football will continue to develop thanks to the well-founded foundation of responsible people.
"The president and the Uzbek Football Association (UFA) have worked very hard every year to develop the country's football. All academies and training schools operate in a single system. Uzbekistan has a lot of talent. If trained properly, our football will go even further," the U17 Uzbekistan captain emphasized.
