7.
04:07
Yellow card for Johan Mojica (Colombia)
On the right wing, Abbosbek Fayzullaev puts pressure on Johan Mojica, who only knows how to help with a foul. Referee Anthony Taylor doesn’t hesitate for a second and takes out the yellow box for the first time.
5.
04:05
As expected, Fabio Cannavaro’s men are concentrating on a stable defense. The Uzbeks operate from a five-man chain, so that the space around their own box is extremely narrow.
3.
04:03
Colombia lets the ball run through its own ranks and tries to control the game right from the start. From the half field, Daniel Muñoz is supposed to be served on the right wing, but the pass is too steep, so it continues with a goal kick.
1.
04:00
Then it can start at the Mexico City Stadium! Unsurprisingly, most of the stadium is bathed in yellow, so the support goes to the South Americans. These begin with the kick-off and are active in the unfamiliar blue. Uzbekistan runs in white.
1.
04:00
Game start
03:43
After the Portuguese team’s completely surprising 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia are fighting for the top spot. Based on the current FIFA world rankings, in which the South Americans are in 13th place while the White Wolves are in 50th place, as well as their clear advantages in terms of experience, the Colombians are the clear favorites in this showdown. However, it was not Congo that showed that self-sacrificing defensive work can cause a surprise; Australia (2-0 win against Turkey), Qatar (1-1 against Switzerland) and Cape Verde (0-0 against Spain) were also able to convince as underdogs. In addition, the Uzbeks have the only central defender, Fabio Cannavaro, who has ever won the title of world footballer.
03:29
For the Colombians, it is now their seventh participation in a World Cup, although they narrowly missed the last final round in Qatar around four years ago after they scored 23 points, one point short and only finished sixth in the qualification. Nevertheless, the South Americans have significantly more experience on the big stage than today’s opponents. Among others, James Rodríguez, Juan Fernando Quintero and David Ospina were already on the field at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with Ospina experiencing his first finals in South Africa in 2010. The Colombians also have a very experienced coach on the coaching bench in Néstor Lorenzo, who was a tactics coach for the Argentine national team under José Pékerman at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
03:15
For the Uzbeks, the focus is primarily on the collective. Apart from Abduqodir Khusanov, who plays in the Premier League for Manchester City, the majority of the team is active in the domestic Super League. However, there is still a big name in the team from Central Asia. For around a year, shortly after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro took over as coach of the White Wolves. However, it is also the first World Cup as a coach for the 2006 World Cup captain.
03:08
On the seventh day of the tournament, Uzbekistan versus Colombia are the last two teams that have not yet intervened in the game. The match is likely to cause great euphoria, especially from the Uzbek perspective. For the first time in history, the White Wolves were able to qualify for a World Cup finals. They finished second in a group with Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea, which meant they were able to bypass the Asian qualification format. Uzbekistan has therefore been a finalist for the title fights in the USA, Mexico and Canada for almost exactly a year.
03:00
Hello and welcome to the game between Uzbekistan and Colombia! These two teams had to wait the longest for their opening World Cup match, thus ending the first matchday of the group stage.