NANNING, China, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan's head coach Hector Cuper insisted it was not a right time to assess Fabio Cannavaro's coaching work of Team China on Friday after the Argentinean watched the opening match between China and Thailand in 2019 China Cup.
Cannavaro started to steer China last week, but his debut was ruined by Thailand with a 1-0 defeat on Thursday. Cuper, who had a period of cooperation with Cannavaro in Inter Milan years ago said it was inappropriate to evaluate the Italian's work.
"I do have watched the game between China and Thailand, but for me it is not a right time to assess Fabio's performance. You know he has just led the team for several days while a coach needs a long time to change a team, let's see what will happen in the future."
Uzbekistan suffered a 3-0 defeat against Uruguay in the second match of China Cup, however, Cuper said playing with a strong team like Uruguay would be beneficial to his team.
He said:"Uruguay is one of the best teams in the world. We had chances after the break but still lost the game. I think the game will be good for us to prepare the upcoming World Cup qualifications."
Uzbekistan is due to take on China in the 3rd-place game, Cuper said his team would try best to show dignity.
"We will make every effort to beat China in style. It's an important game which will have impact on our world ranking."
