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Colombia makes its debut in the this Wednesday when it faces Uzbekistan at the Estadio Ciudad de México, at 10:00 PM Cuba time, in the opening match of the .
The team led by Néstor Lorenzo arrives at the tournament as clear favorites, backed by a qualifying campaign in which they finished third in CONMEBOL with prestigious victories against Argentina and Brazil, and by the excellent form of their key players.
The coffee-loving fans dream of matching or surpassing the historic performance of Brazil 2014, when Colombia reached the quarter-finals for the first time before falling 2-1 to the host nation on July 4 of that year in Fortaleza.
The major offensive highlight will be , who arrives at the tournament at the peak of his career after tallying 15 goals and 14 assists in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and 26 goals across all competitions during the season.
In the South American qualifiers, Díaz was the second highest scorer with seven goals, just one less than Lionel Messi, making him one of the tournament's major threats.
The striker will partner with Luis Javier Suárez, while will operate as the creative engine behind both of them.
At 34 years old, James was the player with the most assists in the entire qualifying phase of CONMEBOL and will seek to carry that influence onto the world stage.
The defensive solidity of Colombia relies on the center-backs Davinson Sánchez from Galatasaray, and Jhon Lucumí from Bologna, a duo that will provide strength against any attempt of a Uzbek counterattack.
In front will be appearance in a World Cup, becoming the first team from Central Asia to compete in a World Cup.
The Asian team qualified as the runner-up in their group during the third Asian round with 21 points in 10 matches, remaining undefeated in the decisive phase.
His coach is Fabio Cannavaro, world champion with Italy in Germany 2006 and Ballon d'Or winner that same year, who took charge in October 2025 and has built a compact team with a 5-3-2 defensive structure.
The Uzbeks will have no qualms about relinquishing possession and relying on counterattacks as their main weapon, which could turn the match into a test of patience for a Colombia that will need to take the initiative from the opening whistle.
The Group K of the 2026 World Cup is completed by Portugal —one of the tournament's top favorites— and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, making every point in this debut a highly valuable asset for Colombia's ambitions.
On paper, Colombia is favored to take all three points, although the history of the World Cup is filled with surprises from debuting teams that have nothing to lose.
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