The national teams of Uzbekistan and Russia will meet at Pakhtakor Central Stadium, and the match will count towards the FIFA World Ranking.
Usmon Toshev, head of the Uzbekistan Football Association’s national teams department, said the match had been approved by FIFA. According to him, both national teams will receive ranking points from the game. The match will take place in Tashkent on November 12.
Toshev said this in an interview with Sport24 correspondent Vladislav Shapiro. Uzbekistan head coach Fabio Cannavaro supported the idea of the match.
Toshev explained that after the cancellation of the game against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, the international department proposed holding a match against Russia in Tashkent. Cannavaro immediately agreed. Toshev expressed hope that both teams would produce a good performance.
Russia has been suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions since February 2022, but the ban does not apply to friendly matches. Russia continues to play international games, and the results count towards the FIFA World Ranking. In the latest published ranking, dated July 20, 2026, Valery Karpin’s team is 35th.
This autumn, Russia played three home friendlies: they beat Iran 2-0 on September 29, defeated Namibia 6-0 on October 3, and drew 3-3 with Nigeria on October 6.
Uzbekistan and Russia have already met since the sanctions were introduced. On November 20, 2022, they played at Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw.