The first casualty of the postponement: the Asian Cup ends Cannavaro's spell in Uzbekistan

The Italian coach's journey ends quickly

Italy's Fabio Cannavaro looks set to become the first casualty of the decision to postpone the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. The Uzbekistan head coach's future is now in doubt.

The Asian Football Confederation confirmed the delay today. Originally scheduled to kick off in January 2027, the tournament will now run from December of that same year.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claims Cannavaro may walk away from the Uzbekistan job following the postponement.

Cannavaro has led Uzbekistan since October of last year, guiding them to the 2026 World Cup. Once there, though, they lost all three group-stage matches against Colombia, Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Next on the Italian's agenda was the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, with the draw handing Uzbekistan a balanced group alongside Jordan, North Korea and Bahrain.

That challenge has now vanished. The postponement leaves Uzbekistan without any official matches in the coming months, and that gap could be enough to push Cannavaro towards the exit.