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Uzbekistan v Colombia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
7 mins: Early yellow card for Mojica who hauls back Fayzullaev after the young Uzbek caught his direct opponent dwelling on the ball. The Istanbul-based playmaker takes the resulting free-kick but belts it straight at the one-man wall.
5 mins: Now Colombia get a free-kick opportunity with Khusanov going in too firmly on Mojica just a few metres outside the corner of the box on the left. James takes it left-footed, but it’s overhit slightly and Yusupov does well to swat it away.
4 mins: It’s a patient start. Colombia are happy to accept possession along their back four and probe through midfield, in no rush to find the vertical pass. James is busy, trying to get on the ball, but Uzbekistan are organised and happy to watch the game unfold in front of them.
2 mins: Uzbekistan get the first opportunity to attack when Taylor awards a free-kick on the right. Fayzullaev curls it over but Colombia head clear. The two sides are structured as expected.
Kick-off!
The last of the first round of group matches is under way…
There are tears in Rodriguez’s eyes as he, his teammates, and most of the 80,000 crowd belt out Himno Nacional de la República de Colombia. That was a proper World Cup moment. Uzbekistan, on debut, are going to have to absorb plenty of emotion tonight.
The two sides stride out into the Mexico City evening. James Rodriguez puffs out his cheeks as he takes in the massed ranks of Colombian supporters in the stands.
The host broadcaster has just shown us inside the Azteca for the first time and it is a sea of Los Cafeteros yellow. It is going to feel like a Colombia home match.
Uzbekistan will be wearing all white tonight, hence their nickname the White Wolves. Colombia will be in their jazzy change strip of electric teal and navy with neon accents.
Conditions in Mexico City are surprisingly cool and damp, much to the delight of the players. There is light rain in the air, temperatures around 19C, and no wind to speak of.
This is our second visit to the mighty Estadio Azteca (AKA Mexico City Stadium) this tournament. It is unrivalled for World Cup significance.
Anthony Taylor will be in charge of this match. The Mancunian has refereed FA Cup finals, a UEFA Nations League decider, and the Europa League final. On the latter occasion, back in 2023, he was the subject of extraordinary abuse by Roma fans and their then coach, Jose Mourinho.
José Orlando Ascencio knows more about Colombia than I do.
Today’s Selección Colombia still have a core of players that are remembered fondly from the Brazil and Russia World Cup finals tournaments in 2014 and 2018 respectively. A few of them are taking part in their third tournament, led by James Rodríguez, still a key figure in a side whose 4-2-3-1 formation is built around his No 10 position. There is support out wide, where Luis Díaz has become a source of goals, though not to the extent to which he shines for Bayern Munich.
Asian football expert John Duerden has more on the White Wolves.
Since qualifying behind Iran, Uzbekistan have lost 2-1 to Uruguay but defeated Gabon and Egypt before final warm-up defeats to Canada and the Netherlands. The latter came thanks to two penalties from Cody Gakpo with the Liverpool forward scoring the winner in the 99th minute, not long after Uzbekistan had equalised to achieve what they thought was going to be a morale-boosting result. It was an important lesson about concentration and focus.
Underestimating the White Wolves would, however, be a mistake. “Uzbeks are tough: people who fight, who never give up,” Cannavaro says. “Playing against them is a pain in the arse. We played Uruguay: we had nine injured players, they weren’t at their best, but my players are tough. It’s not easy to play against them and we only lost 2-1.”
If you don’t know much about Uzbekistan football, you’re not alone. Fortunately Narzulla Saydullaev is around to help out.
Abdukodir Khusanov is by far the most recognisable face in the Uzbekistan side – the country’s first player to appear in the Champions League, Premier League or Ligue 1. His father, Khikmat Khoshimov, also played as a central defender. At 17, Khusanov went to play for Energetik-BGU Minsk in Belarus but could only train, with foreign players not allowed to play competitively until the age of 18. “In Belarus, I suffered away from my parents – often there were training sessions three times a day. If there was heavy snow in winter, we would clear the field ourselves and then train,” he says. During a whirlwind 2023, when Khusanov won the Under-20 Asian Cup with Uzbekistan and earned his first senior cap, Lens came calling. Within 18 months the shy youngster was at Manchester City. “He is a top signing,” Pep Guardiola said. “He is so coachable. He is always training good and gives 100%.” The 22-year-old has won the FA Cup and League Cup this season.
Colombia XI
An experienced and robust Colombia will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The question is where the goals will come from with only Rodriguez and Diaz registering more than six in their international careers to date.
12 Vargas, 2 Munoz, 23 Sanchez, 3 Lucumi, 17 Mojica; 14 Puerta, 16 Lerma; 11 Arias, 10 Rodriguez, 7 Diaz; 25 Suarez.
Uzbekistan XI
Fabio Cannavaro has continued with the 3-4-3 that served Uzbekistan well in qualifying. Khusanov is the only man in the starting XI to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues. The promising playmaker Fayzullaev is on the cusp of bigger things at İstanbul Başakşehir, where he is teammates with the proven goalscorer Shomurodov. Everyone else in the squad is drawn from clubs in Uzbekistan, Iran, or the UAE.
1 Yusupov; 18 Abdullaev, 5 Ashurmatov, 2 Khusanov; 13 Nasrullaev 7 Shukurov, 6 Mozgovoy, 24 Karimov; 22 Fayzullaev, 11 Urunov, 14 Shomurodov.
The penultimate match of the first round has just ended – and it’s joy for Ghana – who pinched a last-minute winner to down Panama 1-0 in Group L.
On the topic of goalscorers, Justin Kavanagh joins in by email to discuss a striker who failed to find the back of the net earlier today. “Strange how we’ve seen a 40-year-old goalkeeper perform miracles for Cape Verde, and an aging Messi put on a masterclass for the next generation. Yet Ronaldo, for all his years of dedicated self-preservation, looks like the oldest man at this tournament. He used to be wind in Portugal’s sails, but now he looks like their anchor. Yet presumably Roberto Martínez won’t do the necessary and make him walk the plank.”
I agree entirely. Extending the point somewhat, Roberto Martinez must be great in job interviews, or have a massive cache of incriminating photographs of significant football administrators. Behind a modest CV he was gifted Belgium’s greatest ever cohort and never looked like winning anything with them, now he has arguably the strongest squad at the finals under his management. At a World Cup notable for its array of superstar coaches it’s hard not to think Portugal may be handicapped by theirs and his inability to make the tough call(s).
With Harry Kane scoring twice against Croatia earlier today – and Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé already putting on a show – see how the race for the golden boot is shaping up.
And check out the all-time standings for good measure.
The World Cup groups have started falling into place with Uzbekistan v Colombia the last game to be played in the opening round of matches. Wondering where each team might be heading into the knockouts? Predict your team’s path to the final with Bracketology:
Similar topics can be enjoyed in audio format with Max, Barry, and the rest of the podcats.
Yara El-Shaboury has the latest Football Daily round-up.
Yet for all the brilliance of Mbappé and Haaland, football’s greatest showman was not about to accept third billing. Hours after the younger generation had dazzled, Lionel Messi wandered on to the stage and reminded us sequels rarely outperform the original. A first World Cup hat-trick. A record-equalling 16th World Cup goal. Another entry in the ever-expanding folder labelled “proof he still has it”. Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 and Messi was involved in absolutely everything that mattered, including a raking challenge on Aissa Mandi that surely would have been a red card for mere mortals. Perhaps not inconsequentially, Gianni Infantino was in Kansas, watching on through misty eyes.
Not such a comfortable debut for Portugal though, who failed to click in attack against DR Congo.
Ronaldo’s baying followers, swathes of them with local accents and wearing his No 7 shirt, had done their best to cajole a meaningful contribution from their idol but ultimately they had to settle for being under the same roof. Perhaps they expected a repeat of Lionel Messi’s staggering performance the previous night but Ronaldo did little to assuage concerns that his presence, once glorious, is nowadays a dead weight. The watching Gianni Infantino could have been forgiven for wondering whether Fifa’s contortions in freeing him from suspension for this game had been worthwhile.
It’s already been a significant matchday for England, who looked like genuine contenders as they put four past Croatia.
They looked like they actually wanted to take part in a game of football, that this wasn’t just an activity to be undertaken out of fear and self‑loathing. For the next 10 minutes they swarmed all over Croatia, might have scored four, and gave a glimpse not so much of patterns of play, but of a willingness to actually do this, of the muscle, speed and ruthlessness that are undeniably there in this team.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 24 of the 2026 World Cup between Uzbekistan and Colombia. Kick-off in this Group K clash at the Estadio Azteca is 8pm local time (10pm EDT/3am BST/12pm AEST).
The final match of the opening round of fixtures is, on paper, perhaps the most unprepossessing. Uzbekistan, on World Cup debut, scored just 14 goals in their 10 AFC qualifying matches, and they take on a Colombia side that have gone off the boil since an incredible unbeaten run that stretched over two years from 2022 to 2024.
Uzbekistan are one of the few little-known quantities at the finals. They began their qualification journey led by Slovenian Srečko Katanec, but ill health forced him to resign in 2025, handing the reins to national hero Timur Kapadze. The step up from under-23 coach was seamless with Kapadze going unbeaten in his eight matches in charge to confirm the White Wolves’ participation in North America.
But then in October of last year the Uzbekistan FA parachuted in Fabio Cannavaro. The 2006 World Cup winning captain has done nothing in his coaching career to date to suggest he is worthy of such a gift. A decent four-year spell at Guangzhou Evergrande ended in 2021, since when he has coached only briefly – and unsuccessfully – at Benevento, Udinese, and Dinamo Zagreb.
A mere 18 months ago Colombia would have been among the tournament favourites. Remodelled by Néstor Lorenzo, the Argentine oversaw victories over Germany, Brazil, and Japan, as well as taking Argentina to extra time of the final of the Copa America. But recent friendly defeats to France and Croatia exposed the limitations of a squad still reliant on James Rodriguez to pull the strings. Luis Diaz has prodigious talent but saw his form wane for Bayern Munich, while the disappearance off the radar of Jhon Duran since leaving Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia has robbed Lorenzo of an x-factor.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a roundup of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Ghana v Panama and email any thoughts about the tournament so far to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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