Preview: Uzbekistan vs Colombia - prediction, team news, lineups

Making their long-awaited debut at football's biggest festival, Uzbekistan will start their World Cup 2026 campaign in Mexico City, with a clash against Colombia on Wednesday.

Both teams are aiming for a top-two finish in Group K - which also features Portugal and DR Congo - as third place risks an early exit.

Match preview

After several near-misses since Uzbekistan gained independence from the Soviet Union back in 1991, the Central Asian nation has finally qualified for a senior World Cup.

On several occasions they fell at the final hurdle, but this time the White Wolves tore through AFC qualifying, losing only one of 16 games en route to North America.

Ranked 50th in the world by FIFA, they impressively finished second to Iran in both rounds, but head coach Timur Kapadze was still dispensed with.

Now led by former world champion Fabio Cannavaro, who lifted the game's greatest prize with Italy 20 years ago, Uzbekistan warmed up for the group phase with a pair of pre-tournament friendlies.

After World Cup co-hosts Canada won 2-0 on home turf, they were beaten 2-1 by the Netherlands in New York, highlighting the size of Cannavaro's task.

Ahead of a tough test against Group K favourites Portugal next week, the Uzbeks will meet Colombia for the first time to date, as a nation of nearly 40 million people watches and hopes.

While the White Wolves are making their debut, Colombia are set for a seventh World Cup appearance this summer.

After reaching the last Copa America final, optimists will hope to surpass the country's best showing so far, which came 12 years ago when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Brazil.

Realists expect them to simply get past the first phase, which Los Cafeteros did both in 2014 and 2018, winning five of six group games along the way.

Having missed out on Qatar 2022, Colombia comfortably booked their ticket this time, finishing third in CONMEBOL qualifying and notably beating Brazil 2-1.

Only world champions Argentina scored more goals across the marathon process, as established stars such as Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez came to the fore.

Ranked 13th by FIFA, Nestor Lorenzo's men then followed back-to-back defeats against Croatia and France during the March international window with two warm up wins earlier this month.

After a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica, the South American side built more momentum by defeating Jordan 2-0, with Jhon Arias scoring both goals.

Uzbekistan form (all competitions):

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Colombia form (all competitions):

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Team News

One of the world's best defenders in his playing days, Cannavaro has usually opted for a risk-averse 3-4-2-1 setup since taking charge of Uzbekistan, with Abdukodir Khusanov playing a key role.

Aside from the Manchester City centre-back, only ex-Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov - who is the White Wolves' all-time top scorer with 44 goals - and his Istanbul Basaksehir teammate Abbosbek Fayzullaev play in Europe.

The latter - named Asia's best young player in 2023 - scored four goals during World Cup qualifying, while captain Shomurodov found the net five times and notched four assists.

Experienced midfielder Jaloliddin Masharipov is likely to miss out on meeting Colombia due to a back injury, but Los Cafeteros should have a clean bill of health.

Supporting lone striker Luis Suarez, they are expected to start Diaz and veteran captain Rodriguez in a potent attack.

Only Lionel Messi scored more goals than Diaz during CONMEBOL qualifying, and Rodriguez led the assist charts with seven; Suarez racked up 38 club goals for Sporting Lisbon last term but has yet to make a mark at international level.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Lerma and Benfica's Richard Rios should feature in central midfield, though Gustavo Puerta provides an alternative box-to-box option.

Uzbekistan possible starting lineup:

Yusupov; Khusanov, Abdullaev, Ashurmatov; Sayfiev, Shukurov, Mozgovoy, Nazrullaev; Fayzullaev, Urunov; Shomurodov

Colombia possible starting lineup:

Vargas; Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Mojica; Lerma, Rios; Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Suarez

We say: Uzbekistan 0-1 Colombia

While still outside the established group of elite football nations, Colombia will fancy their chance of making a deep run at this World Cup, following the shock failure to qualify for Qatar.

Simply glad to be there, Uzbekistan look set to drop deep and focus on defence, so Los Cafeteros may win their Group K opener by a single goal.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.