There is a lot of excitement in Uzbekistan ahead of the youth team match tonight (00:00) against Israel in the eighth of the World Cup final in Argentina.
Football is the most popular sport in the Asian country and bars in Tashkent are expected to keep up and watch the match despite the challenging 2 a.m. local time.
Uzbekistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Fazilov Gayrat Gniewicz told Israel Today: "Let's see who is better. Football is a game of peace and I see it as a game of friendship. Of course, everyone wants to go to the next level. I wish success to both teams, but I am Uzbek and hope our team wins.
"We have a lot of young people and our population loves football, especially in this competition under the age of 20. We expect a good result, I will try to stay awake." Ganyevich made the remarks on the sidelines of the semi-annual textile conference currently being held in Tashkent.
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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Will try to stay awake", photo: Ariel Kahane
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