Luis Diaz shined in his World Cup debut, scoring the tiebreaker in the 65th minute and contributing an assist to lift Colombia to a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan in both teams’ World Cup opener on Wednesday in Mexico City.
The 29-year-old Bayern Munich star also assisted Daniel Munoz’s sensational 40th-minute volley as Los Cafeteros took the lead in Group K following Portugal’s draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier Wednesday.
Jaminton Campaz sweetened the victory with a third goal from Cucho Hernandez’s cross deep in second-half stoppage time before a fiercely pro-Colombian crowd.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev leveled affairs in the 60th minute on a close-range rebound during Uzbekistan’s World Cup debut. However, Colombia thoroughly deserved the victory, outshooting their opponents 15-9 overall and 4-3 in efforts on target.
Remarkably, Diaz never previously appeared at the World Cup, as he was a relative late bloomer in his career. He was still playing in the Colombian second tier during the 2018 World Cup, and Los Cafeteros failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament.
However, after leading his nation with seven goals in 2026 qualifying, he was clearly Colombia’s most important player on Wednesday, even alongside the presence of captain James Rodriguez.
Diaz struck the post with a shot in the 32nd minute. Eight minutes later, he delivered a perfectly weighted diagonal ball into the path of Munoz’s well-timed run.
Instead of attempting a diving header or trying to take a second touch, Munoz reached out his right leg and stuck an exceptional first-time effort out of the air and past Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov.
Uzbekistan’s equalizer came from an excellently worked attack. Dostonbek Khamdamov chased a ball down the left to keep it in play, then hooked a cross back to the far post.
Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas saved Eldor Shomurodov’s excellent volley, but Fayzullaev cleaned up by heading the ball into an open net from close range.
The deadlock lasted only five minutes until a moment of selective Colombian pressure led to a turnover and a break. Gustavo Puerta surged forward before laying the ball left into the penalty area for Diaz, who hit a confident and low finish past Yusupov.
