WORLD CUP
Soccer fans making their way to Houston Stadium on Tuesday morning could be forgiven for thinking they’d stumbled onto a film set. Dozens of Uzbek supporters came trotting through the streets on horseback, decked out in full traditional armor—a jaw-dropping tribute to the deep roots of equestrianism in Uzbek culture. Fellow fans marched alongside the riders, wrapped in the green, white, and blue of their nation’s flag, turning the streets of Houston into something between a parade and a time capsule.
It was a spectacle the city won’t soon forget.
Uzbekistan is making its first World Cup appearance since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991—and its fans showed up like they had something to prove. Portugal ultimately won the match 5-0, but the scoreline comes with a significant asterisk: Cristiano Ronaldo, at 41 years old, became the first player in history to score goals at six different World Cups, netting twice against Uzbekistan on Tuesday. By all accounts, everyone inside that stadium knew they were witnessing something that will never happen again.
Among those taking it all in from the best seats in the house—right behind the team’s bench — was Alia Azamat Ashkenazi, American screenwriter and director, watching alongside her father: the legendary Uzbek striker Azamat Abduraimov. The 60-year-old Tashkent-born forward is one of the most storied figures in Uzbek football history, best remembered for scoring the decisive golden goal against South Korea at the 1994 Asian Games, the moment that brought Uzbekistan its gold medal and is still considered the greatest in the nation’s soccer history.
But Abduraimov’s connection to Tuesday’s match ran deeper than nostalgia. As Alia wrote on Instagram afterward, her father didn’t just help build Uzbek football’s past—he helped shape its present, having coached and mentored many of the players who took the pitch against Portugal. Even decades after his playing days, she noted, he was still being swarmed by fans who know exactly who he is.
«Futbol with Daddy like good old days,» she wrote. «Ronaldo made history today and we’ve all witnessed something very special. Proud of my homeland for being the first Central Asian country to qualify for the World Cup. Proud of my dad for still being ‘the legend of Uzbek Football.'»
For Abduraimov, watching his country on the World Cup stage must have felt like a dream decades in the making. For Houston—and for the rest of the world watching those horses thunder through the streets—it was simply unforgettable.
Photos: Instagram and Alia Azamat Ashkenazi
By Erin Levi
