Italian football legend Fabio Cannavaro has reached an agreement with the Uzbekistan Football Federation to coach the national team at the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Slovenian coach Katanec coached Uzbekistan before leaving midway through the World Cup qualifiers due to a cancer diagnosis. Coach Timur Kapadze successfully completed the task, leading his country to its first-ever World Cup.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, negotiations between Uzbekistan and Cannavaro had been ongoing for more than a week, and the agreement was finally reached on Thursday. It’s only a matter of time before the contract is signed, which will see the legendary Italian defender coach the Asian team until the 2026 World Cup.
Cannavaro doesn’t have a coaching career as successful as his playing career. His last experience was in Croatia last season, when he coached Dinamo Zagreb for just six months.
This will be Cannavaro’s second coaching experience with a national team, having previously coached the Chinese national team for two matches in 2019. His best coaching experience was with the Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande between 2019 and 2021, where he won the Chinese League title and the Chinese Super Cup.
