Cannavaro After Three World Cup Losses: "I Don't Like to Lose"

Uzbekistan's national team coach, Fabio Cannavaro, is no stranger to the allure of the World Cup. The former Italy captain, who led the Azzurri to glory in the 2006 tournament, couldn't, however, guide his Asian squad to even a single point in the North American competition. The specialist admitted he dislikes losing and isn't feeling well.

"Do you think I'm not nervous and not angry? I don't feel good because I don't like to lose. Of course, we made some mistakes, but I can't complain about the players. I will never complain about the footballers because I know, and I told you, you were at the press conference and you know what I said on the very first day when we saw the draw. The World Cup is brutal. They gave their all, but they are sad in the locker room. They are suffering more than anyone else in Uzbekistan, but football in the country needs to improve," Cannavaro told the media.

Captain Eldor Shomurodov gave Uzbekistan a World Cup lead for the first time, but after holding on for over an hour, the team conceded three late goals against DR Congo, ultimately losing 1-3. "In today's match, the fear of winning crept in. We went into the locker room at halftime, and when we returned, I had already told them that we needed to keep increasing the tempo and hold our defensive line even stronger. I told them how to play and what to do because DR Congo was pressing down the wings through their fullbacks. This meant there was a lot of space to attack behind them. Instead, we constantly failed to receive the ball with our backs to goal, and in matches like this, 99 out of 100 times we lose the ball exactly that way," the Italian added.