Uzbekistan vs Colombia Predicted Lineups & Team News

Uzbekistan and Colombia meet at the world famous Estadio Azteca in the early hours of Thursday morning (8pm Wednesday local, 3am BST, BBC One) with the South Americans expected to go well in North America. 

Below you can find the latest Uzbekistan vs Colombia Team News for this encounter. 

Uzbekistan

In case you didn’t know already - Uzbekistan’s manager is footballing legend Fabio Cannavaro, who lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006. Twenty years on, he takes charge of a nation making their debut on the biggest stage of all, and he has a few key decisions to make heading into this opener. 

He is set to set his team up in a defensive 3-4-3, with Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov by far the biggest name in this squad. He will take his place alongside Rustamjon Ashurmatov and Jakhongir Urozov in the back three, and can expect to be busy. 

Farrukh Sayfiev is 35 but the best option at right wing-back, with Sherzod Nasrulloev set to start on the left. Otabek Shukurov will start in midfield with Akmal Mozgovoy and Odiljon Hamrobekov battling it out for the place alongside him. 

Abbosbek Fayzullayev and Oston Urunov will be the supporting cast for striker Eldor Shomurodov, who scored 22 goals in 34 Turkish Super Lig games for Istanbul Basaksehir and will play as the lone striker.

Colombia 

Luis Suarez is set to lead the line for Nestor Lozano’s side after a strong season for Sporting saw him score 28 goals in 32 league games. In a 4-2-3-1, Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz is expected to star on the left wing, with Jhon Arias on the right after a disappointing spell in the Premier League with Wolves. 

All eyes will be on 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez, and the captain is expected to start as the number 10 at 34. Jefferson Lerma of Crystal Palace will start as one of two sitters in midfield, with Benfica’s Richard Rios set to get the nod ahead of Gustavo Puerta alongside him. 

A back four of Palace full-back Daniel Munoz, former Spurs man Davinson Sanchez, Bologna’s Jhon Lucimi and Mallorca’s experienced Johan Mojica looks solid enough - with Camilo Vargas the first choice in goal at 37.

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live Uzbekistan vs Colombia Odds over on betfred.com

Uzbekistan vs Colombia Key Players:

Eldor Shomurodov (Uzbekistan)

Khusanov is the easy pick here for a team that is going to do a lot of defending, and he deserves his praise as one of the most promising centre-backs anywhere in the world. However, I think Uzbekistan’s hopes rely on how many goals they can score at this tournament. 

It feels as though Shomurodov is going under the radar somewhat as a forward. He won the Golden Boot in the Turkish Super Lig with 22 goals for Istanbul BB, who only finished fifth. He scored 22 of their 58 goals which is almost 38%, and he will have to be clinical for the underdogs. I think he can bag a couple at the World Cup, which could lead to a few shocks along the way. 

Luis Diaz (Colombia)

The obvious pick but the right one. Diaz has flown since leaving Liverpool for Munich, scoring 26 goals in 51 in all competitions this season, his best ever goal return.

Added to that, he assisted his teammates on 23 occasions to give him 49 goals contributions, almost one per 90. He is going to be the star man in this Colombia side, with Suarez the likely beneficiary of his creative powers.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com