Group K was supposed to be a Colombia stroll. Uzbekistan had other ideas, and for about 12 minutes inside the Azteca they had Los Cafeteros sweating through a script nobody saw coming. Jeff D. Lowe flagged the day before tip that this World Cup just keeps stacking bangers, and Colombia at Azteca was the nightcap nobody wanted to miss.
An absolutely electric #FIFAWorldCup continues with maybe its best day yet? Hard to even decide at this point. And we still have Colombia from Estadio Azteca next!
Colombia got on the board first and looked comfortable, until the 59th minute when Uzbekistan ripped a dagger straight through the yellow shirts. 1-1. The white kits piled on the scorer near the touchline and suddenly Group K had a real game on its hands.
Uzbekistan's stunning equalizer in the 59th minute, with #22 mobbed by his teammates.
The panic lasted roughly five minutes. By the 65th, Colombia had stormed back down the field and restored the lead, 2-1, with a celebration that looked more like relief than swagger. That kind of immediate answer is the difference between a tournament-ending headline and a footnote — and Colombia did not blink.
Colombia's instant response to retake the lead just minutes after the equalizer.
Then came the exclamation point. Stoppage time, a cross that Jeff D. Lowe could only describe as "fucking crazy," and Colombia tucked a third away to put the match to bed 3-1. Jersey Jerry was already mashing the GOL DE COLOMBIA button on his timeline, and you can't really blame him — the assist alone was worth the price of the FS1 subscription.
The stoppage-time dagger off the cross that capped Colombia's opener at 3-1.
Three points, a scare survived, and the kind of opener that tells you a team is actually built for the long haul. Uzbekistan walked out of the Azteca with their dignity and a goal on the highlight reel. Colombia walked out with the win and a real claim to running Group K.