Southeast Asia Newspaper: "Uzbekistan's success is a lesson for regional football"

(Dan Tri) - Southeast Asian media praised the success of Uzbekistan's football, and considered it a lesson for regional football, instead of chasing after the story of naturalizing players.

The ASEAN Football website, which specializes in Southeast Asian football, reflected: “The Uzbekistan team deserved to enter the World Cup finals. They have finally made history.”

“Today's success of Uzbekistan football did not come overnight, it is the result of strong investment in youth football development. They have a clear vision, their domestic league is very stable.

Uzbekistan beat a team that specializes in using naturalized UAE players to enter the 2026 World Cup finals (Photo: AFC).

“The young players of Uzbekistan are really mature. They have the perfect blend of modern playing style and national identity,” ASEAN Football added.

Uzbekistan's football success is in stark contrast to the path some teams in Southeast Asia are taking today. Uzbekistan focuses on developing youth football, using their own internal resources, while football powers in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia rely entirely on the policy of naturalizing players.

ASEAN Football commented: “Uzbekistan’s success is a lesson for Southeast Asian football. It is necessary to invest with a long-term vision, not short-term glory. Priority should be given to developing young players and promoting domestic tournaments.”

The fact that Malaysia surpassed the Vietnamese team with naturalized players is not necessarily a good thing (Photo: VFF).

“It is necessary to maintain stability in coaching and a clear football philosophy. Create space for local football talents instead of relying on "importing" players. Uzbekistan football has done it, so when will it be the turn of football in Southeast Asia?”, are still the lines written on the ASEAN Football page.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Siam Sport newspaper did not forget to mention Japan's 6-0 victory over Indonesia on June 10. Japan is the team that uses all players trained in the country, while Indonesia uses a team of naturalized players from Europe.

Siam Sport shared: “The 6-0 victory of the Japanese team over Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers further clarified the gap between Japanese football and Southeast Asian football.”

“This victory also clearly reflects the philosophy of the Japanese team that they do not care who their opponents are or what kind of players they use. Their job is to fully develop their own strengths and what they have been trained for,” Thailand’s leading sports daily emphasized.

The story of the abuse of naturalized players in Southeast Asia continues to cause controversy, as Malaysia follows Indonesia's lead, using almost the entire squad of naturalized players, grown up outside the country.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-thanh-cong-cua-uzbekistan-la-bai-hoc-cho-bong-da-khu-vuc-20250613233035779.htm