Asian Cup 2027. Uzbekistan's schedule is known, but the holding of the tournament is in question

Asian Cup 2027. Uzbekistan's schedule is known, but the holding of the tournament is in question

The tournament will begin on January 7 in Riyadh with the host nation's match against Palestine.

The Uzbekistan national team will start its participation in the tournament on January 8 with a match against Jordan. The contest will begin at 21:30 Tashkent time at the "King Abdullah Sports City" stadium in the city of Jeddah.

The second-round match will take place on January 12 against the DPRK national team. The kickoff time for the match, which will be held at the "Kingdom Arena" stadium in Riyadh, is set for 18:30.

In the final, third round of the group stage, Uzbekistan will test its strength against Bahrain on January 17. This fixture is scheduled to take place at 18:30 at the "Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City" stadium in Jeddah.

In the Asian Cup, 24 national teams are divided into 6 groups. The teams taking 1st and 2nd places in the group, as well as the 4 best 3rd-placed teams, will advance to the playoff stage.

Earlier, AFC President Sheikh Salman did not rule out that the timing of the tournament could be rescheduled due to the unstable situation.

Sheikh Salman said that "if necessary," the tournament could be postponed by one year — until 2028, but the AFC is in no hurry to make a decision on this matter. According to him, a final conclusion could be reached by the end of November. Meanwhile, the local organizing committee emphasizes that preparations are going according to plan and promises to monitor the situation.

In recent weeks, amid the escalation of the war with Yemen's Houthis, Saudi Arabia has come under attack. This has also affected sporting events: three national championship matches, including a match involving Cristiano Ronaldo's "Al-Nassr", were postponed, while a match involving this club in the AFC Champions League was delayed due to a downed missile. Later, another match at a stadium that will host Asian Cup fixtures was rescheduled for a different date. The Saudi Football Federation denies that the rescheduling of the match is related to security, explaining it by travel issues of the visiting club.

Tournament participants have also expressed concern. Australia stated that it is "closely monitoring" the situation, while the South Korean players' union expressed "serious concern" over player safety. Last week, a high-ranking Japanese football official said it would be difficult to hold the tournament on time under the current circumstances.