Mexico City [Mexico], June 18 (ANI): Colombia kicked off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a clinical 3-1 victory over debutants Uzbekistan at the Mexico City Stadium on Wednesday (local time).

Despite a spirited second-half equaliser from the Central Asian side, Nestor Lorenzo's men demonstrated their superior tournament pedigree to secure three vital points and take the early leadership in Group K. Daniel Munoz opened the scoring for Colombia before Uzbekistan briefly levelled. Luis Diaz restored Colombia's lead with a composed finish, and Jaminton Campaz sealed the 3-1 win with a late goal in stoppage time.

From the opening whistle, Colombia dominated the tempo, stringing together long sequences of possession against Fabio Cannavaro's men. The initial breakthrough nearly arrived in the 33rd minute when Colombia's Luis Diaz pierced the backline, only to see his sharp-angle shot strike the far post.

The South American pressure finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute. Midfielder Jefferson Lerma dinked a perfectly weighted vertical pass over the Uzbek centre-backs. Overlapping right-back Daniel Munoz timed his diagonal run to perfection to smash a flying one-touch volley past goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov to make it 1-0 before the half-time.

The equaliser came in the 60th minute when Eldor Shomurodov controlled the play and fired a volley. Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas failed to deal with the shot cleanly, and Abbosbek Fayzullaev reacted quickest to head in the rebound and level the score.

However, Uzbekistan's joy lasted a mere five minutes. In the 65th minute, a loose throw-in near the halfway line allowed Gustavo Puerta to take possession and trigger an immediate counter-attack. Puerta squared the ball to Luis Diaz on the edge of the box, who fired a low drive into the far corner to reclaim the lead.

Colombia put the match beyond doubt in the 99th minute, when second-half substitute Jaminton Campaz found the back of the net to seal the 3-1 scoreline.

With Portugal and DR Congo drawing 1-1 earlier, Colombia sit comfortably at the top of Group K. (ANI)