Twenty-Two Shots, One Empty Net Header 2026
Colombia fired 22 shots at Uzbekistan and needed a goalkeeper’s flapping hand to break the deadlock. Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1 at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City on June 18, 2026, in their Group K opener at the 2026 World Cup, and the obvious read is that a heavyweight steamrolled a debutant nation. The expected goals tell a tighter story, with Colombia at 1.61 and Uzbekistan, a team with zero shots on target through a full half, somehow finishing at 1.16.
Daniel Munoz opened the scoring in the 40th minute with a swivelling volley off a Luis Diaz pass. Abbosbek Fayzullaev equalized on the hour with a header from almost on the goal line. Diaz restored the lead five minutes later, and Jaminton Campaz, on as a substitute, headed in a third in the ninth minute of stoppage time to finish it at 3-1.
Here is the contradiction worth sitting with. Colombia held 61 percent possession and completed 444 passes to Uzbekistan’s 243, yet their open-play xG advantage was modest once you strip out the stoppage-time chances. Uzbekistan touched the ball in the Colombia box only five times across the entire match, against Colombia’s 27. That gap, more than the final score, explains why this never felt like a contest for long stretches in midfield.
Still, the numbers do not let Colombia off easily either. Fayzullaev’s equalizer carried an xG of just 0.06, and it arrived from a rebound after Eldor Shomurodov’s effort, worth a startling 0.98 expected goals, was somehow kept out by Colombia’s defense. That single moment was the best chance of the entire match, and it fell to the team that finished with one goal, not three.
Shot quality split the two sides cleanly elsewhere. Colombia created four big chances to Uzbekistan’s zero, and Munoz’s opener alone was worth 0.48 xG, a clean side-of-the-box finish rather than a scrambled effort. Compare that to Uzbekistan’s leading scorer, who needed a goalkeeping mistake more than a moment of craft to get on the scoresheet.
Fouls ran high on both sides, with Uzbekistan committing 14 to Colombia’s 11, and Abdukodir Khusanov picking up a yellow card in the 34th minute for a foul on Diaz after the Bayern Munich winger had already struck the post. That is a tournament debutant getting physical with a player who was already finding space behind them, and it set the tone for a half where Colombia were rarely troubled defensively.
Truth is, Jefferson Lerma was the busiest player on the pitch in a quiet sort of way. He made nine touches in midfield duels, attempted three shots of his own, and kept Colombia’s tempo from dropping in a match that could easily have turned scrappy after Uzbekistan equalized.
Even so, Colombia needed extra time stoppage and a 0.49 xG header to close this out at three goals, not two. So is this really the dominant Group K leader the table now suggests, or a team that spent ninety-five minutes wasting the kind of separation it should never have allowed to stay this close.