'Just the beginning' for Uzbekistan in World Cup

For Akmal, seeing the country he grew up in qualifying for the World Cup and playing on the biggest stage has meant a lot to him.

He hails from Tashkent in Uzbekistan and currently lives in Reading with his young family.

The first ever representative from Central Asia may already be out of the tournament after two heavy defeats, but Akmal said it was "amazing" to see them up against the likes of Portugal.

While most of the family was grimacing during the 5-0 loss on Tuesday - Akmal's youngest son was rooting for the other side as he is a Cristiano Ronaldo fan.

During the game traditional Uzbek snacks were laid out and a paper Uzbekistan flag that Gafur made was on display.

Akmal said "Even on the screen you could see the support of Uzbekistan fans at the stadium despite the score, you could see them smiling and happy and we feel similar as well."

He said he grew up seeing his home country trying to qualify for the biggest footballing tournament in the world but they always came up short.

"It's been 35 years we have been trying to qualify we are at the World Cup and it's amazing," he added.

Although Akmal and his wife Gavhar root for Uzbekistan there is some rivalry within the family.

Gafur, 9, has been a football fan for three years and was happy as Portugal striker Ronaldo put two past his dad's homeland.

It may have been "disappointing" for Akmal, but Gafur said he was happy to see Uzbekistan being represented.

"It felt quite nice, especially seeing Abdukodir Khusanov, the Man City player, it felt nice seeing him at the World Cup," he added.

With their final group game against DR Congo on Sunday at 00:30 BST, Gafur is hoping to convince his mum to extend his bedtime so he can watch.