It only took one evening at the Azteca for Luis Diaz to make his mark on a World Cup group. The forward was the engine behind a 3-1 job on first-timers Uzbekistan in Mexico City, and in doing so, he put Los Cafeteros in the driver’s seat of Group K after a 1-1 between Portugal and the DR Congo.
For Uzbekistan, this was uncharted territory – their very first World Cup game – and they made the most of it. In front of 80,824, you would have to be hard not to feel the atmosphere. The White Wolves found a way to get back in it in the second half and for a while made life hard for the fancied side before things were put in order.
Group picture: early control, clear signal
On paper, the 13th-ranked side versus the 50th is no contest. And they made short work of it. You can’t ask for better timing, either, with those points on the table from the other match. Nestor Lorenzo’s lot have made a point of it right out of the gate.
In a way, this is about making amends for missing out in Qatar. They’ve been as far as the quarterfinals in 2014, and if anything, this opening act has more of a swagger to it than any kind of jitters.
What you’re left with after the Group K reordering:
– Colombia are on top to start with
– A 1-1 see-saw for Portugal and DR Congo
– Some credit where it’s due for Uzbekistan’s tenacity
Diaz puts the cat among the pigeons after the equaliser
The 60th minute was the moment for Uzbekistan. Camilo Vargas did well to put Eldor Shomurodov’s shot into trouble, but Abbosbek Fayzullaev was there to put it in the net. A bit of history for the Central Asians.
But give it five minutes and Diaz was on it. He let a pass come to him on the edge of the area and in the 65th, put a low one away in the corner. A calm sort of answer to put the rest of us at ease and put the wind out of their sails.
How they put it together
Lorenzo’s boys had the reins for the most part, even if it was a work in progress. You had your hint of what was to come when Diaz put one against the post in the 33rd.
Then came the first of the night in the 40th, set up by none other than Diaz. He put Daniel Munoz in on his own and the right-back didn’t miss. After the 60th-minute blip, Diaz put in his own to make it 2-1 and put some space back in the score.
It wasn’t until we were in the last of the time that the matter was done and dusted. Jaminton Campaz, on for the side, put a header in the 99th to make it 3-1. A good reminder of the depth in the squad as well as the name on the shirt.
From the dugout and the pitch
“We came here to do what we did,” was the way Diaz put it. “Very important to win the first one. We had the upper hand in the first half, but they were better in the second. There is room to be better.”
Lorenzo saw it as a case of taking charge in a place like the Azteca. “We knew it was going to be a test,” he said. Over in the other camp, Fabio Cannavaro was having none of it. “To go down 3-1 is a lot for a team our size. We have the quality, but we have to learn from it.”
Why it means something
Lorenzo will be as happy with how they handled themselves as he is with the three points. You have your moments of possession, you have the ones who can decide a game, and then you have someone off the bench to put it to bed. It’s what you want to see in a tournament.
And you can see the backbone of the side: Jefferson Lerma making things happen in the middle, Puerta with his eye in, and then there’s Diaz. Vargas may be thinking about that equaliser, but the side as a whole moved on from it in a hurry.
Looking ahead
Next up for Colombia is a trip to Guadalajara to see the DR Congo on 23 June 2026. Put one over them and you can all but book your spot in the next round.
Uzbekistan have a date with Portugal in Houston the same day. What we saw in Mexico City says they can still make a nuisance of themselves, even if they were on the wrong end of a sterner test.
The bottom line
Not perfect, but you can’t argue with it. With Diaz in the kind of form he is and the way the group is shaping up, Colombia have made their presence known in week one.
