Uzbekistan head coach Fabio Cannavaro proud of his team's effort in Colombia defeat

[p][b]“I told them that I ‌am very proud of the match they played. I ‌told them I really liked what I saw,”[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cannavaro-fabio/A1CicVEU/"]Cannavaro[/a] said. [b]“It wasn’t easy, ‌we were playing in Mexico, but it felt like playing ‌in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/colombia/G02s4PCS/"]Colombia[/a] with all the Colombian fans here.”[/b][/p][p]Colombia winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diaz-luis/SKjMUHVm/"]Luis Diaz[/a] inspired his side to victory as the South Americans marked their return to the ‌World Cup, having missed the 2022 edition. After [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/munoz-daniel/4vZVW6Ur/"]⁠Daniel Munoz[/a] opened the scoring ‌late in the first half, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uzbekistan/EZYKKRMc/"]Uzbekistan[/a] responded well and levelled through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fayzullayev-abbosbek/v1IIJGm6/"]Abbosbek ​Fayzullaev[/a] on the hour mark.[/p][p]However, Colombia quickly regained control through Diaz before substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jaminton-campaz/0SowzmQl/"]Jaminton Campaz[/a] sealed the result in ​stoppage time, leaving Cannavaro to reflect on a score line he felt did not fully reflect his team’s effort.[/p][p]Cannavaro said the ⁠experience of playing in ​such a historic venue would stay with his players.[/p][p][b]“Playing here is something wonderful. It’s something you will remember your whole life. It’s the first time my players have played in this stadium, and they ‌will remember it forever,”[/b] he said.[/p][p]“When a small team like ours works the way it did today, it’s clear that losing 3-1 is too much,” said Cannavaro.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="2fa4feb3-0bc1-4933-b31c-b01c34d4d65f" credit-line="StatsPerform via Opta" guid="8cd86b53-b472-440d-8b0b-487e6cf5a5c6" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The Italian coach emphasised the need for growth as Uzbekistan continue their debut campaign, particularly when facing top-level opposition such as Colombia and upcoming opponents [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a].[/p][p][b]“We have to grow. I always tell them to stay in the match,” Cannavaro said. “It’s not easy to play against a team like Colombia ‌or Portugal... Today the team understood when we had to ​suffer, when we had to control the ball, when we ‌had to switch from one side to the other. I think the second half was very good.”[/b][/p][p]“But at this level, when you make mistakes, you pay heavily.”[/p][p]Uzbekistan next face Portugal in Houston, while Colombia, who top Group K after Portugal and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/6LHwBDGU/"]⁠Democratic Republic of Congo[/a] ⁠drew 1-1, take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/d-r-congo/phn9mm8H/"]DR ‌Congo[/a] in Guadalajara.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/colombia-G02s4PCS/uzbekistan-EZYKKRMc/?mid=jaMlPbx1"]Check out the match summary here[/a].[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]