Colombia They returned to Football World Cup After an absence of eight years, coach Nestor Lorenzo’s side was too strong for the new players Uzbekistan.
Colombia made a triumphant return to the World Cup Luis Diaz He starred in a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, who participated for the first time in the tournament.
The Bayern Munich winger scored and provided an assist Daniel MuñozShot at Mexico City Stadium, where he was a substitute Jaminton Campaz Stamped all three points late.
Returning to the finals after an absence of eight years, Colombia quickly returned to its rhythm and came close to scoring in the 17th minute when John Arias A 20-yard strike flashed narrowly wide from the near post.
Nestor Lorenzo’s side came close to scoring when Diaz hit the post in the 32nd minute. However, they achieved the goal in stunning fashion eight minutes later, as Munoz collected Diaz’s cut ball inside the penalty area and slotted it into the net.
Uzbekistan struggled to impose themselves in their World Cup campaign, but equalized against the run of play after an hour.
Dostonbek Khadamdamov He kept the attack alive by crossing to Eldor Shomurodovwhose good shot was blocked and bounced across the six-yard box, with Abbasbek Fezulayev Nodding at the empty grid.
Coach Fabio Cannavaro’s team equalized for only five minutes, with a sweeping counterattack that culminated in Gustavo Puerta He feeds Diaz, whose shot sneaks past the weak palm Otker Yusupov.
Colombia put the match beyond any doubt in the eighth minute of stoppage time Cucho Hernandez Kambaz sent in a brilliant cross, which Kambaz headed in from close range, before hitting Bekhroz Karimov against the woodwork.
Colombia steals the show at the beginning of March in Group K
the next Portugaltie with Democratic Republic of the Congo Earlier on Wednesday, both teams realized this was an opportunity to push each other away from the favorites group.
Colombia always seemed the side most ready to seize this opportunity. They controlled the first half 72%, but lacked skill for large parts of it.
It was not until the 40th minute that they registered their first shot on target, thanks to Muñoz, who provided the kind of finishing touches from the likes of Diaz and James Rodriguez He would be proud.
Muñoz has now scored four goals in 47 appearances for Colombia, with all three of his last goals coming in major tournaments.
Uzbekistan’s nervous start was highlighted by their failure to register a single touch inside the opposition penalty area during the first half, making them the only team so far in the World Cup to do so.
At that point, they had recorded an
But the joy did not last long, as Diaz punished the confusion in the midfield, and became the second Colombian to score and assist a goal in a single World Cup match after James’ goal against Japan 12 years ago.
Diaz also led the way with touches in the penalty area (six), total duels (12) and duels won (eight).
The former Liverpool player has been involved in a goal in his last six competitive appearances for Colombia (four goals and four assists), with the winger providing three assists during his last three appearances on this tour.
Our Opta Match Center brings you all the Uzbekistan vs Colombia match statistics from the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K encounter at Mexico City on 17 June.
The Match Center below includes team and player statistics, expected goals data, passing grids, an Opta whiteboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Below the Match Center, you can find the official Opta stats for the game as well.
Uzbekistan vs Colombia: Post-match facts
- Colombia are now unbeaten in their last four FIFA World Cup matches (W3 D1), equaling the longest unbeaten streak in the tournament (W4 in 2014). They have lost only two of their previous ten matches (W7 D1) dating back to 2014.
- AFC nations have lost 13 of their 14 World Cup appearances – the only exception being Kuwait’s 1-1 draw with Czechoslovakia (then Czechoslovakia) in 1982. However, both Uzbekistan and Jordan have scored on their debuts in 2026, a feat achieved only by Kuwait in 1982 and Saudi Arabia in 1994 (1-2 against Netherlands) among Asian teams. Which participated for the first time.
- Uzbekistan was the first team to fail to register a single touch inside the opponent’s penalty area during the first half of a match at the 2026 World Cup. Their first touch in the opponent’s penalty area came in the 60th minute, when they scored their first World Cup goal.
- Luis Diaz is the first player at this year’s World Cup to score a goal, make an assist and hit a post in the same match. He is also the second Colombian player to score and create an assist in a World Cup match since scoring began in 1966, after James Rodriguez against Japan in 2014.
- Luis Diaz has been involved in a goal in each of his last six matches for Colombia (four goals and four assists), with the winger providing three assists over his last three matches on this tour, including setting up Daniel Muñoz against Uzbekistan.
- Daniel Muñoz has now scored four goals in 47 appearances for Colombia, with all three of his last goals coming in major tournaments – two in the 2024 Copa America and one in today’s World Cup match against Uzbekistan.
- Jaminton Campaz scored Colombia’s third goal at 98:09, the latest goal Colombia has ever scored in a World Cup match other than extra time.
- Colombia has scored before halftime in six of its last 10 World Cup matches. They have also won 10 of their 11 matches when they have scored the first goal of the tournament (L1), with their only defeat coming in their first ever World Cup match (1-2 to Uruguay in 1962).
- Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro has become the fourth individual in history to win the Ballon d’Or and participate in a World Cup as a player and coach, joining Franz Beckenbauer, Oleg Blokhin and Marco van Basten in achieving this feat.
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