How did James Rodriguez rate the Uzbekistan national team's performance?

The group stage matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are in full swing across North America. The historic day millions of our compatriots awaited with great excitement has arrived, and the Uzbekistan national team took to the pitch at a World Cup for the first time in its history. This historic encounter of the first group stage round took place at the magnificent Estadio Azteca in the world-famous Mexico City. The intense battle ended in a 3-1 victory for the experienced Colombia national team.

After the match, the captain of the Colombia national team, renowned midfielder James Rodriguez, shared his thoughts and sincere assessment of the performance of the Uzbekistan national team making their World Cup debut.

You can find the detailed views of the Colombian captain regarding our representatives and the upcoming schedule of our national team in the special sports table below:

"If they believe in themselves more, they can achieve good results"

In a post-match interview, the leader of the Colombians, James Rodriguez, gave special praise to the fighting spirit and physical condition of the Uzbek players. To the media's question, "James, what impression did the Uzbekistan national team leave on you?", the experienced star replied as follows:

"It is evident that they are a physically very strong team. They were very determined on the pitch, played tough when necessary, and played quite deep in the defensive line. I believe that if they start to believe more in their own strength and capabilities, they can achieve very good and positive results in the future."

Author of the historic first goal — Abbosbek Fayzullaev!

It is worth mentioning that our representatives put up a worthy resistance during the match. In the 60th minute, while the score was 1-0 in favor of Colombia, the national team's skilled winger Abbosbek Fayzullaev hit the opponent's goal accurately.

This goal was etched into history as the first-ever goal of the Uzbekistan national team in World Cup history, equalizing the score and bringing infinite joy to our fans. The beautiful combination and determined action clearly showed the high potential of our team.

Portugal awaits us ahead

The first exciting match at the World Cup is behind us. Now, the Uzbekistan national team under the guidance of experienced specialist and head coach Fabio Cannavaro will focus all its attention on the next important clash.

Our representatives will take the field against one of the world's strongest giants — the Portugal national team — as part of the second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage. This crucial encounter is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 to take place.

Final conclusion of Zamin sports commentators:

The recognition from world football star James Rodriguez indicates that our boys are on the right track. The defeat in the first match should not break us; on the contrary, the historic goal and game at the Azteca provided us with great experience. We hope that Cannavaro's pupils will believe in themselves even more in the match against Portugal on Tuesday and amaze the whole world. Keep fighting, "White Wolves", we are with you!

Follow the hottest World Cup diary, exclusive reports from our national team's camp, and the next steps of our players at the Mundial always on the Zamin pages!