It briefly got a bit more complicated than expected, but Colombia began its 2026 World Cup with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
Colombia was heavily favored against Uzbekistan, a team playing its first World Cup game in history, and entered the game with a golden opportunity to grab control of Group K after Portugal’s shocking tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier Wednesday.
That all bore out throughout the first half, in which the ball barely entered Colombia’s side of the field. They only got one goal out of the period, but it was a beauty.
Bayern Munich star Luis Diaz found Daniel Muñoz with a perfect feed and Muñoz found the back of the net with some incredible mid-air touch.
Uzbekistan’s response came in the second half, when it scored its first World Cup goal on a sequence ending with a header by Abbosbek Fayzullaev, off a rebound of a blocked shot from Eldor Shomurodov.
The game was tied, but only briefly.
Diaz struck again with his own first World Cup goal, allowing the heavily pro-Colombia Mexico City crowd to breathe easy again.
Uzbekistan got a couple more scoring opportunities in stoppage time, but no further drama came for Colombia, who sealed the game with a goal by Jáminton Campaz. Colombia now leads Group K while Portugal and DR Congo sit with a point each.
Colombia can lock in a place in the knockout rounds with a win over DR Congo in its next match on June 23. Uzbekistan will continue its World Cup debut against Portugal on the same day.
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