Atlanta United on Wednesday afternoon officially welcomed Uzbekistan, which began open training at the club’s facilities as it prepares a group-stage run that opens on June 17 against Colombia in Mexico City, continues June 23 against Portugal in Houston, and finishes June 27 back in Atlanta against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The first session was open to fans and youth players: several Uzbek supporters watched practice, local youngsters took part in a skills challenge and met the national players, and at least a few fans drove from Nashville after discovering the event via ChatGPT. Atlanta United’s senior vice president of strategy, Dimitrios Efstathiou, said the club has prepared to host Uzbekistan for a full month, installing brand-new thick-cut sod about six weeks ago and keeping the national team and the pro squad in separate, designated training spaces.
Efstathiou framed the setup as both practical and community-minded, saying he was excited to host a nation making its first World Cup appearance and stressing the club wanted the tournament to connect with local children in and around Marietta. He added the facility had been upgraded with top-quality turf and that Atlanta United hoped Uzbekistan might extend its stay beyond the three scheduled matches.
The scene on Wednesday underscored how the team’s ramp-up will be public and hybrid: Uzbekistan used the two main fields for full training while youth players rotated nearby. The open session also surfaced an odd modern note—some spectators learned about the practice through an AI chat—yet the club says it is the only U.S. facility where a national team and a professional squad are training in separately designated spaces.
Uzbekistan arrives in the tournament as a World Cup first-timer and with a qualification record that belies its debut: the team won just one of 16 qualification games across both rounds en route to the finals. The campaign included a 3-2 loss in Qatar, four draws with Iran, and a pair of penalty saves by goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov against North Korea. Fabio Cannavaro, who signed an initial two-year contract last year, is in charge as the squad settles into final preparations.
Midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev, speaking on acclimatization, compared Atlanta’s heat to home and said the squad expects a strong emotional response when it steps out for its first match and hears the national anthem on the World Cup stage. The immediate timeline is clear: final training and community events in Atlanta now, a trip to Mexico City for the Colombia match on June 17, then Houston on June 23 for Portugal, and a return to Atlanta for the June 27 fixture against DR Congo.
What remains unresolved is performance: Uzbekistan’s month in Atlanta is meant to tune a side that has not previously played at this level, but whether those preparations will translate into results against Colombia and Portugal—and into qualification out of the group—will be decided on the field beginning June 17 in Mexico City.
