Uzbekistan are heading to next year's World Cup for the first time in the country's history, a feat that caps years of progress in a part of the world not known for its footballing prowess.

The Central Asian nation qualified for football's premier international tournament on Thursday thanks to a 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates -- enough to seal the achievement with one game to spare.

"I cannot convey my feelings. I am very, very happy -- for the first time in 34 years the Uzbekistan national team has reached the World Cup," Otabek Khaydarov, a 36-year-old entrepreneur told AFP in Tashkent after the final whistle.

Ex-Soviet Uzbekistan started competing as an independent nation in the 1990s, following the break-up of the USSR.

Footage shared on social media showed the players, draped in national flags, mobbing coach Timur Kapadze in the press room after the game.

The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams has given traditional outsiders, like Uzbekistan, the chance to break into the top ranks of world football.

But their success is not just down to a larger World........

© Al Monitor