Uzbekistan has hired former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro as national team coach ahead of its first World Cup appearance next year.

Cannavaro, who captained his country to the 2006 World Cup title, is taking over the role with immediate effect, the Uzbekistan football association said Monday on X.

The Central Asian nation qualified in June for the 2026 World Cup under local coach Timur Kapadze but has since sought a manager with greater international experience.

Before Cannavaro's hiring, Uzbekistan had been linked with Joachim Löw, who guided Germany to the 2014 title, and former Portugal and South Korea coach Paulo Bento.

Uzbekistan will make its World Cup debut at the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with key players that include Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov and Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov, who is on loan in the Turkish league.

Most of the 52-year-old Cannavaro's coaching experience since retiring as a player in 2011 has come in Asia, although he has had brief spells in Europe with Udinese and Benevento in Italy and Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, which he left in April.

Cannavaro, who played 136 times for Italy, previously managed Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and led Guangzhou Evergrande to the Chinese Super League title in 2019, the same year he briefly coached China's national team before stepping down after two games.