Luis Díaz stars as Colombia opens World Cup with win over Uzbekistan

Luis Díaz turned Colombia’s opening night into more than a routine win. His assist set up Daniel Muñoz for the first goal, his strike in the 65th minute became his first at a World Cup, and his influence carried Colombia past Uzbekistan 3-1 at the Estadio Ciudad de México, a result that immediately changed the tone of Group K.

Colombia opened the scoring in the 40th minute when Díaz found Muñoz, and the Bayern Múnich winger kept driving at Uzbekistan’s back line after the break. Abbosbek Fayzullaev pulled the debutants level in the 60th minute, briefly testing Colombia’s resolve, but Díaz answered five minutes later with the goal that put Néstor Lorenzo’s side back in front. Jaminton Campaz then sealed the result deep into stoppage time, scoring in the 90+9 minute to close out a match that FIFA logged as Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia.

The victory carried weight beyond the scoreline because of Colombia’s recent World Cup history. FIFA noted that Colombia had lost four of its six previous opening matches at the tournament, including the 2-1 defeat to Japan in Russia 2018. Starting with a win, then, gave Colombia an early platform in a group that also includes Portugal and RD Congo, especially after Portugal and RD Congo finished 0-0 in the other Group K match on the day.

That context made Díaz’s night matter even more. FIFA had already framed him as Colombia’s central attacking figure heading into the tournament, with the team still chasing a breakthrough beyond its best-ever run to the quarter-finals in Brazil 2014. Against Uzbekistan, he answered that billing with direct involvement in two goals and enough influence to earn Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match honors. FIFA said the award will be handed out 104 times across the 2026 World Cup, and Díaz became one of its first winners.

For Colombia, the result did more than deliver three points. It suggested a team capable of turning pressure into control, with Díaz at the center of that identity, and it bought time for a group that now has a clearer path into its next tests against RD Congo on 23 June and Portugal on 27 June. The opening win did not solve everything, but it gave Colombia something the country has often lacked at World Cups: a debut that confirmed its ambitions instead of immediately narrowing them.