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Colombia made its debut in the with a resounding victory over Uzbekistan, winning 3-1 at the on the first matchday of Group K, played on Wednesday night.
The match started at a leisurely pace, and the first yellow card was issued in the seventh minute to J. Mojica. Colombia gradually established its dominance, maintaining 62% possession and applying constant pressure on the Uzbek defense, which committed 14 fouls throughout the match.
The first goal came in the 40th minute: Arias sent a through pass to Luis Díaz, who set up Daniel Muñoz with a long ball into space. The full-back got behind the defense and scored with his right foot to make it 1-0. A well-executed team play that highlighted the difference in caliber between the two teams.
Uzbekistan, however, did not give up. At the beginning of the second half, the Uzbek coach made two simultaneous substitutions, and the team was rewarded at the 60th minute: Abbosbek Fayzullaev connected with a cross from the left and scored the equalizer. It was Uzbekistan's first goal in the history of the World Cup, a significant milestone for the first Central Asian team to qualify for the tournament.
The Uzbek joy lasted barely five minutes. In the 65th minute, Gustavo Puerta found Luis Díaz on the left, and the Liverpool winger found the net with a well-placed shot to the left post of goalkeeper Yusupov, restoring Colombia's lead: 2-1. Díaz thus completed a performance with a goal and an assist in his World Cup debut, establishing himself as the undisputed star of the match.
The third goal came in added time with a header from Jáminton Campaz, who had come on in the 72nd minute to replace James Rodríguez. The header sealed the final score of 3-1 and capped off a perfect night for the Colombian national team at the Azteca.
The statistics clearly reflected Colombia's dominance: 14 shots compared to six from Uzbekistan, four corners against three, and three offsides for Colombia versus none for Uzbekistan. Each team received a yellow card. The Uzbek captain Eldor Shomurodov, the all-time leading scorer for his national team, came on as a substitute but was unable to change the outcome of the match.
With this result, Colombia with three points and a goal difference of +2, ahead of Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which each have one point after drawing with each other in the first match. Uzbekistan remains at the bottom of the table with no points.
The coffee growers will return to the field on June 23 against the DR of Congo in their second group match, while Uzbekistan will seek its first victory in World Cup history when facing Portugal.
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