Colombia squeeze past dogged Uzbekistan to open World Cup campaign with victory
Daniel Muñoz’s brilliant strike, created by Luis Díaz, set Colombia on heir way to a win that should never have been as edgy as it ended up being. But his Crystal Palace teammate Jefferson Lerma was a key figure in the centre of midfield, a controlling figure in Colombia’s domination of the majority of the game. “I’m living out my childhood dream of playing in a World Cup for my national team and for my country,” said a delighted Díaz after being named man of the match. “And what could be more beautiful than contributing with a goal and an assist?”
Uzbekistan’s defensive line seemed deep enough that there was no danger behind it but Díaz measured a precise pass into the space where Muñoz swooped onto it from the right. It was an extremely difficult finish but the full-back, somehow, leaping with right leg fully extended, jabbed a toe at the ball and volleyed it past Utkir Yusupov.
“We knew the first game wasn’t going to be easy,” said the Colombia manager Néstor Lorenzo. “We could have scored and built a bigger lead, but our opponents played well; they’re a very compact team and it was difficult for us to get through. We need to finish off our moves. We had a lot of possession but didn’t create crosses or shots on goal; we need to improve that.”
This was at least as much of a home match for Colombia as the opening game had been for Mexico. The stadium was a bowl of yellow – although the team themselves wore a greenish turquoise – broken only by a white splodge behind one goal of perhaps 100 white-wigged Uzbekistan fans, whose enthusiastic drummer ensured that they could be heard above the Colombian din.
The game soon settled into a pattern of attack against defence. Uzbekistan had kept seven clean sheets in 10 games in the third round of AFC qualifying, and it was easy to see how, their notional 3-4-2-1 often resembling a 5-4-1 with two banks sitting deep and the center-forward Eldor Shomurodov doing a lot of chasing.
“We need to improve,” said Uzbekistan manager Fabio Cannavro. “Beating Colombia and Portugal will be difficult. But today we stayed in the game until the end and the team knew when to weather the pressure and when to counter them through possession.”
Although Colombia aren’t short of creative talent, this is not the side of 2014. Early on, there was a lot of sideways passing, but they improved after the hydration break to hit the post through Díaz.
The second half was rather livelier, as Uzbekistan found an equaliser just after the hour. The young Istanbul Başakşehir forward Abbosbek Fayzullaev nodded in from close range after Shomurodov’s volley had been deflected onto the post by the thighs of the Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas. A mood of anxiety settled over the stadium, but it lasted only five minutes before Colombia retook the lead. Shomurodov was dispossessed, Colombia swept forward and Gustavo Puerta laid in Díaz to score with shot that squirmed through Yusupov’s hands. Colombia then dropped deep, though, inviting Uzbekistan onto them and they were under pressure when Jaminton Campaz made the game absolutely safe in injury-time, heading in after tenacious work by Juan Camilo Hernández.
With DR Congo holding Portugal to a draw, victory puts Colombia in charge of the group, although a proper assessment of how good they are will have to wait until they play a side prepared to do more than simply absorb pressure.