Uzbekistan were pitted against Hong Kong in the second round of the Olympics qualifiers while the senior side will take on Central Asian neighbours Kyrgyzstan in the second round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers.

“The rankings mean nothing to me because even highly ranked teams find it difficult on the pitch,” he told the-afc.com after Wednesday’s draws.

Speaking about Kyrgyzstan, whom they will face in home-and-away encounter on July 23 and 28, Abramov said: “I think playing against regional neighbours is always difficult and they have the ability to surprise us.”

Uzbekistan lost 1-0 to Hong Kong in the Guangzhou Asian Games and Abramov believes that this is the opportunity for his team to prove their superiority.

“It will be interesting to play Hong Kong in the Olympics qualifiers and show that our defeat in Guangzhou was just a surprise,” he said.

“We must win both these games and set higher goals.”

Uzbekistan will host Hong Kong on June 19 before meeting them away in the return leg on June 23.