2026 World Cup: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia, Probable Lineups

The night between Wednesday, June 17, and Thursday, June 18, will be a historic one for sports in Uzbekistan: the national team of the former Soviet republic, which gained independence on September 1, 1991, will play its first match in the World Cup after qualifying in the Asian zone. Their opponent in the opening match is Colombia, a team that has long been considered a potential dark horse in the World Cup.

At the helm of Uzbekistan is Italian Fabio Cannavaro, who took over as head coach of the White Wolves after the team qualified under Timur Kapadze. The captain of the Italian national team at Germany 2006 has led his squad in ten matches—eight friendlies and two in the FIFA Series. The record stands at six wins—two of which came on penalty kicks—one draw at the 90-minute mark, and two losses, against Canada (2-0) and the Netherlands (2-1) in their last two friendlies. Among the best-known players are captain Shomurodov (formerly of Roma, Genoa, Spezia, and Cagliari) and Khusanov of Manchester City.

Colombia hopes to have put a long transition period behind it: in the new century, it has participated in only two World Cups, in 2014 and 2018, achieving its best-ever result in the former—reaching the quarterfinals (where it was ultimately defeated 1-2 by host Brazil). In the Copa América, however, it finished third in 2021 and was defeated by Argentina in extra time in the final. In the CONMEBOL qualifying group, they secured qualification comfortably, finishing third with 28 points.

Probable Lineups

UZBEKISTAN (3-4-2-1): Yusupov; Khusanov, Abdullaev, Ashurmatov; Sayfiev, Shukurov, Mozgovoy, Nazrullaev; Fayzullaev, Urunov; Shomurodov. Head Coach: Cannavaro.

COLOMBIA (4-2-3-1): Vargas; Muñoz, Sanchez, Lucumí, Mojica; Lerma, Rios; Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Suarez. Head Coach: Lorenzo.