Colombia Defeat Debutants Uzbekistan 3-1 in the Azteca
- Forrest Wimberly
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Credit REUTERS/Raquel Cunha via Sportstar
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Mexico City Stadium was the venue as a huge pro-Columbian crowd turned out to see their Coffee Growers play World Cup debutants Uzbekistan in Group K action.
Thirty-seven places separated Columbia (FIFA Ranking 13) and the White Wolves of Uzbekistan (FIFA Ranking 50). The match would be much closer on the pitch, but Columbia used a pair of late, second half goals to grab all three points from the upstart Uzbekistan side.
From the opening whistle, Uzbekistan didn’t seem overwhelmed by the moment. Playing in such a massive, historic World Cup venue as Azteca Stadium might have been too much to handle, but the White Wolves played with an organized, calm approach to every twist and turn of the match. Uzbekistan was advertised to be playing a 1-3-4-3 formation but it quickly switched to a 1-5-3-2 formation for the duration of the match.
Columbia looked to have grabbed the lead in the 32nd minute as Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich) hit the post on a low driven shot, but the ball stayed out of the nets and the score remained 0-0. This would serve as a warning of the Columbia goal that did come in the 41st minute.
Luis Diaz played an inch-perfect looping ball up and over the Uzbekistan backline into the penalty area where a streaking Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) timed his run to perfection, beating the offsides trap and putting him all alone in front of the goal. A deft touch with Munoz’s right foot took the ball on a full-volley and rocketed the ball into the roof of the net past the helpless goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead just before the half.
Uzbekistan didn’t blink at allowing the goal, saw the half out, and regrouped at the break. This determined style of play helped Uzbekistan make World Cup history as they climbed back into the match with their first World Cup goal from Abbosbek Fayzullaev in the 60th minute.
A deep ball was played in the left corner of the field and a gut-busting run from the White Wolves’ Dostonbek Khamdamov (Pakhtakor) barely kept the ball in play. Khamdamov looped a ball into the back post where Eldor Shomurodov (Istanbul Basaksehir) measured his shot and rang the ball off the near post and Columbian keeper Camilo Vargas (Atlas). Uzbek Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Istanbul Basaksehir) was first to the loose ball and he calmly put the ball in the nets and his name in the World Cup history books with this goal.
Columbia took the equalizing goal as a wake-up call and answered almost immediately in the 65th minute, stealing an Uzbek throw in at midfield and springing a fast, odd-man rush that caught the Uzbek defense flat-footed. Luis Diaz was last on the ball inside the area and rifled a low, driven shot into the back post and Columbia back into the lead.
Uzbekistan looked to level the match in their best chance of the later stages of the match in the 93rd minute as a hopeful cross caused some minor discomfort for Vargas, but not enough to put the ball across the line.
Jamiston Campaz (Rosario Central) put the game to bed with a tap in goal in the 98th minute deep into second-half stoppage time as he was all alone at the back post to guide home the third Columbian goal. Cucho Hernandez (Real Betis) with the assist had done all the hard work on the right flank to battle 1v1 to keep the play alive and then whip in the low driven cross for the Campaz tap-in.
Columbia climbs to the top of Group K and has a meeting with DR Congo in Guadalajara in their next match on June 23. Uzbekistan travels to Houston to face Portugal also on June 23.
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