Luis Diaz sparks Colombia to win over debuting Uzbekistan

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Luis Díaz had a goal and an assist in his debut on soccer’s biggest stage, sparking Colombia to a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan on Wednesday night in its World Cup opener.

Daniel Muñoz, also playing in his first World Cup, opened the scoring in the 40th minute after a pass from Díaz, who scored the tiebreaking goal in the 65th when his strike from close range deflected off the hands of diving goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov and trickled across the line.

Fayzullaev Abbosbek scored in the 60th minute for Uzbekistan, which made its World Cup debut in front of a heavily pro-Colombia crowd of 80,824 at Estadio Azteca.

Jaminton Campaz added a goal in second-half stoppage time for the Colombians, who are ranked 13th in the world and were heavy favorites over 50th-ranked Uzbekistan.

Colombia moved atop Group K, ahead of Portugal and Congo, who played to a surprising 1-1 draw earlier Wednesday.

The Colombians will face Congo next Thursday at Guadalajara, Mexico, while Uzbekistan will take on Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal at Houston.

The Cafeteros returned to World Cup after missing the Qatar tournament in 2022. Their best finish came in 2014 in Brazil, when they reached the quarterfinals.

Colombia finished third in South American qualifying behind Argentina and Ecuador. Uzbekistan was second in its Asian qualifying group behind Iran.

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