Colombia opened the World Cup with a victory against Uzbekistan at Estadio Azteca
The Colombian national football team successfully opened its appearance at the 2026 World Cup with a 3:1 victory against Uzbekistan in the first-round match of Group K, played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. According to a report by the Associated Press agency, Colombia reached three points with goals by Daniel Muñoz, Luis Díaz and Jaminton Campaz, while the only goal for Uzbekistan was scored by Abbosbek Fayzullaev. For the Colombian side, it was a return appearance at the biggest football competition after missing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while for Uzbekistan it was a historic first appearance on the world stage.
According to local time in Mexico City, the match was played on the evening of 17 June 2026, while in European time zones it was recorded under the date 18 June 2026. In its official schedule, FIFA lists this encounter as a Group K match at the stadium that, for the needs of the tournament, is also designated as Mexico City Stadium, while in the international football context it is Estadio Azteca, one of the most famous stadiums in the history of World Cups. According to AP data, the match was attended by 80,824 spectators, with strong support for the Colombian national team in the stands.
Colombia used experience and control of the first half
Colombia entered the match as the favorite and as a national team with more experience in the final stages of major competitions, and it largely confirmed that role in the first half. The team of head coach Néstor Lorenzo tried to take the initiative through possession of the ball, calmer build-up play and a patient search for space behind the Uzbek defense. Although the opening phase of the match did not bring a large number of clear chances, Colombia looked more secure in the organization of play and more dangerous when it managed to accelerate through the wide positions.
According to the AP report, Daniel Muñoz opened the scoring in the 40th minute after an assist from Luis Díaz. That goal was important not only because of the lead, but also because of the psychological relief it brought to the Colombian team, which entered the match with a clear expectation of victory. Muñoz, who was also playing his first match at a World Cup, timed his run into the final phase of the move well and turned Colombia’s territorial advantage into a concrete result. Colombia kept control until the break, but did not manage to completely break the opponent.
After the match, according to AP, Lorenzo assessed that the encounter was difficult and that the initial burden was visible in his team. Colombia, in his assessment, was under the pressure of taking the initiative and winning points, especially in an atmosphere in which it was expected to justify the status of favorite. Such a context explains why the victory, although convincing in terms of the score, was not completely calm. In the continuation, Uzbekistan showed that it was not satisfied merely with participating in the tournament.
Fayzullaev scored a historic goal for Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan opened the second half more decisively, with more courage in moving forward and with a clearer intention to press Colombia’s back line. The national team led by Fabio Cannavaro did not have the same amount of experience in matches of this profile, but in the continuation it showed organization, physical energy and a readiness to punish Colombian uncertainties. It was precisely such an approach that brought the equalizer in the 60th minute.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored the goal for 1:1 and thereby, according to AP, became the scorer of Uzbekistan’s first goal in the history of that country’s appearances at the World Cup. For a national team that had qualified for the final tournament for the first time, that moment had a meaning that went beyond the result itself. The goal confirmed that Uzbekistan can create problems even for higher-quality opponents, and at the same time it opened up the match in a period when it seemed that Colombia was looking for a way to safely manage the advantage it had gained.
After the match, according to AP, Cannavaro described the defeat as a valuable experience for a team that is only getting acquainted with the level of the world finals. The Italian expert, a world champion in 2006 as a player, took over Uzbekistan in October 2025, and his task at this tournament is not only results-based but also developmental. According to FIFA’s official data, Uzbekistan qualified for the 2026 World Cup for the first time in its history, thereby ending a long period of unsuccessful qualification attempts and approaches to the final tournament without a final breakthrough.
Luis Díaz put Colombia back in front
Uzbekistan’s equalizer lasted only briefly. Luis Díaz, one of the key players of the Colombian national team, put Colombia back in front in the 65th minute. According to the AP report, his close-range shot deflected off the hands of goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov and crossed the goal line. That goal was the decisive moment of the match because it restored control to Colombia precisely at the stage when Uzbekistan had emotional momentum and an opportunity to further complicate the encounter.
Díaz finished the match with a goal and an assist, thereby confirming his status as one of Lorenzo’s most important attacking pillars. According to AP, after the match the Colombian forward emphasized the importance of victory in the first round, but also the need for the team to improve because the opponent played better in the second half than in the first. Such an assessment describes well the dual nature of Colombia’s performance: the result was strong, but the play left room for analysis before the next matches in the group.
Colombia scored the third goal in stoppage time, when Jaminton Campaz confirmed the victory and closed the match with a 3:1 scoreline. That goal gave the result a calmer appearance than the match suggested in some phases. Uzbekistan had a period in which it was competitive and dangerous, but Colombia showed what is often required of more experienced teams in the opening matches of major tournaments: the ability to survive pressure, re-establish the advantage and punish the opponent in the closing stages.
An important result in Group K
The victory brought Colombia its first three points in Group K, in which Portugal and DR Congo are also competing. According to AP, Portugal and DR Congo had earlier played 1:1, which gave Colombia the opportunity after the first round to take the top of the group. In the format of the 2026 World Cup, according to FIFA rules, 48 national teams compete, divided into 12 groups, and progression will be earned by the two best national teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams. Despite the expanded format, an opening victory remains extremely important because it reduces pressure in the continuation of the competition and leaves more tactical space in the remaining matches.
According to AP, Colombia was the 13th national team in the world ranking before the match, while Uzbekistan was in 50th place. Those numbers by themselves are not a guarantee of the outcome, but they show the difference in international reputation and continuity of appearances at a high level. Colombia achieved its best result at the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, when it reached the quarter-finals. Precisely the memory of the generation that then attracted great attention and the fact that the national team missed the tournament in Qatar strengthen the impression that the 2026 appearance is both sporting and symbolic for Colombia.
In its preview of Group K, FIFA highlighted that Colombia enters the tournament as a renewed and competitive national team, while Uzbekistan comes to the competition as a debutant that turned its qualification path into a historic success. In such a balance of strength, the first match had special weight for both sides. Colombia had to justify the status of a team aiming for the knockout phase, while Uzbekistan had to prove that its qualification was not only a story of participation, but also of the possibility of creating pressure against national teams with a greater tradition.
Uzbekistan’s debut and Colombia’s return
For Uzbekistan, the match in Mexico City was its first at the final stage of a World Cup. According to FIFA, the national team qualified after a series of qualification attempts that had ended in disappointment in earlier cycles. In the qualifiers for 2026, Uzbekistan, according to FIFA’s data on Asian qualifying, finished among the directly qualified national teams from Asia, thereby achieving one of the greatest successes in the history of football there. Entry into the tournament brought the country a new level of international visibility, and Fayzullaev’s goal against Colombia will remain recorded as a historic moment regardless of the final outcome of the match.
Colombia, on the other hand, arrived in Mexico with a different kind of burden. According to FIFA’s profile of the national team ahead of the tournament, the Colombian team was building a new competitive cycle after missing the 2022 World Cup and after a period in which it had achieved notable results at continental level. Néstor Lorenzo took on the responsibility of returning the national team to a stable world level, and the victory in the first round confirms that Colombia has enough individual quality and competitive maturity for an ambitious performance in the group.
It was precisely the combination of those two contexts that gave the match a special dynamic. Uzbekistan played with the energy of a debutant and the desire for its first appearance not to remain merely a formality, while Colombia played with the need to confirm continuity, quality and the status of favorite. The 3:1 result shows Colombian efficiency, but it does not erase the fact that Uzbekistan responded seriously in the second half. For Fabio Cannavaro’s team, that can be a basis for the continuation of the tournament, while for Colombia it represents a warning that more stability will be needed in Group K throughout all 90 minutes.
Estadio Azteca as the stage for a great football moment
The encounter was played at Estadio Azteca, a stadium that has an exceptional place in the history of World Cups. FIFA listed Mexico City as one of the host cities for the 2026 tournament, and the stadium in the Mexican capital was included among the venues that will host matches in the group and knockout stages. The same stadium hosted the opening match of the 2026 tournament, thereby, according to FIFA, becoming the first stadium to host openings of three different editions of the World Cup. Such a background gives additional weight to every match played at that location.
For Uzbekistan, appearing on such a stage was part of a historic debut, but also a challenge that carries the pressure of a great setting. For Colombia, which according to AP had significant support in the stands, the stadium created an atmosphere in which the expectation of victory was felt even more strongly. Lorenzo cited precisely the emotional burden of the atmosphere as one of the factors that affected his team’s performance. Such a statement shows that a first match at the World Cup is often not only a technical and tactical task, but also a psychological test.
The next matches will bring a clearer picture of the group
After the victory against Uzbekistan, Colombia turns to the match against DR Congo, which according to AP it will play in Guadalajara. Uzbekistan will play against Portugal in Houston in the next round, which means that the debutant immediately faces another extremely demanding test. Since Portugal won only one point against DR Congo in the first round, the pressure on the Portuguese national team will be greater, and Uzbekistan will try to use the experience from the duel with Colombia to remain competitive in the fight for points.
The first round of Group K therefore opened the competition in a way that gives Colombia an advantage, but it does not yet resolve the question of progression. The three points won and a two-goal difference are important capital, but the match also showed that Néstor Lorenzo’s team must carefully manage periods of falling concentration. Despite the defeat, Uzbekistan received confirmation that it can create danger even against stronger opponents, while the continuation of the group will show whether the historic debutant can turn encouraging passages of play into points. Colombia, however, achieved what was most important in the first round: it confirmed its quality with a convincing start and immediately positioned itself as one of the key candidates to progress from Group K.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report from the Uzbekistan – Colombia match, scorers, statements, attendance, group standings and preview of the next matches (link)
- FIFA – official match centre for Uzbekistan – Colombia at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – official schedule, competition format, host cities and stadiums of the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – profile of the host city Mexico City and list of matches at the stadium in Mexico City (link)
- FIFA – official text on Uzbekistan’s historic qualification for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – official profile and context of the Colombian national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup (link)