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Qosimov snubs Pakhtakor in Uzbekistan squad

Striker Igor Sergeev will fancy his chances to lead the line for Uzbekistan after scoring 11 goals in 25 games for Pakhtakor in the 2014 season, while midfielder Jamshid Iskanderov and defender Egor Krimets will also travel to Australia.

Pakhtakor claimed their second Uzbek Professional Football League title in three years last month, winning by eight points from Lokomotiv Tashkent, while third-placed Nasaf were nine further adrift.

But despite their success, Pakhtakor have only provided three players to Uzbekistan for next month's Asian Cup, while Qosimov picked five from Lokomotiv and three from Nasaf.

Uzbekistan's two most-capped players - Timur Kapadze and captain Server Djeparov - will appear in their fourth consecutive continental finals.

China will be Uzbekistan's second opponent, before a clash with Saudi Arabia.