The hosts opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Turkmenistan, followed by a 6-0 masterclass against Qatar to see them through to the knockout stage with pole position secured.
Kapadze, however, expects a tough challenge from their Central Asian rivals, who are led by former Iran international Mehdi Mahdavikia.
“In general, there are no weak teams in this tournament, 16 of the strongest teams from Asia are in Uzbekistan,” said Kapadze. “In particular, Iran are a strong team and have their own style of play. They have several good players in every position.
“I know Mehdi Mahadavikia as a football player. He played in several famous teams. Today he has good results in coaching. He is one of the specialists who has formed his team well and has his own philosophy.”
#AFCU23 – Group A | Qatar 0 – 6 Uzbekistan
Kapadze hinted at the possibility of resting some players but is confident the replacements will deliver.
“We will first have to see the players’ condition, we may have some injuries, or take yellow cards into account. The rest of our players are good and can play in the starting-11, so we will see.
“We don’t only play well as a team but we also have a lot of individual players with good technical skills. I would not pay special attention to any player. Because, as I said, we have good players in every position.”
Having played before in front of big crowds in Tashkent, Uzbekistan have travelled down south to the city of Qarshi for the All-Central Asian derby at the Markaziy Stadium and Kapadze said his players are determined to deliver another winning performance for the fans.
“This competition is held on the fields of our country, that’s why this tournament is very important for us,” said Kapadze. “We want to win the title in front of our fans.”
#AFCU23 – Group A | Turkmenistan 2 – 1 Iran
Iran head coach Mahdavikia, meanwhile, faces a must-win match if his side are to stand a chance of finishing runners-up, depending on the Turkmenistan-Qatar result.
“We made mistakes in the first and second games and made it hard for ourselves after the defeat against Turkmenistan. However, we’re looking forward to facing Uzbekistan,” said Mahdavikia.
“We started well against Turkmenistan but during the second half, we lost control and that allowed them to score the second goal. Getting the three points is very important tomorrow. We must win.”
Despite the control and better ball possesion in both the matches, Iran’s U23 started the tournament with a big handicap. The preparation has been dismal, the support from Iran’s Olympic Committee has been nothing but hot air, while the only bright part of the team, Mahdavikia was just about to leave in frustration. All these were signs of a team that is crumbling and trying to enter the competition for the sake of turning up. The two matches also showed how immature the Iranian players are at such an age level. IT is embarrassing and once again indicative of such a poor grassroots development in Iran.
The chances of Iran’s Omid team beating one of the contenders and host of the tournament is remote, but with the possibility that the Uzbek will line up a second-string team after assuring qualification, Mahdavikia must take that chance if his players do not fail him.
Uzbekistan v IR Iran
Venue: Markaziy Stadium (Qarshi)
Kick-off: 22:00 (UTC+5)
Venue: Markaziy Stadium (Qarshi)
Kick-off: 22:00 (UTC+5)