Uzbekistan will open its first World Cup on 17 June 2026 against Colombia in Mexico City, setting the country’s Colombia World Cup Schedule for its tournament debut. The group also sends the team to Houston on 23 June to face Portugal and to Atlanta on 27 June for DR Congo, a compact three-city route through North America.
That schedule gives Uzbekistan a clear first test after a qualification run that ended with one defeat in 16 matches across both rounds. The team did not just qualify; it did so with only one loss, drew all four of its matches against Iran and had Utkir Yusupov save penalties in both games against North Korea, details that explain why this debut has drawn so much attention back home.
Fabio Cannavaro will lead Uzbekistan at the tournament, a sharp turn for a side that had planned to bring in a foreign coach after qualifying. Cannavaro signed an initial two-year contract and arrived last year after Uzbekistan had already booked its place, while the football association moved on from Timur Kapadze, who replaced Srecko Katanec in January 2025 after Katanec took charge in 2021 and built a 3-4-3 system. Cannavaro won the 2006 World Cup as Italy’s captain and played in 18 World Cup matches across 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010, but his coaching record has not matched his playing reputation.
That contrast is now part of Uzbekistan’s World Cup story. Katanec, speaking before he stepped away for health reasons, said he would never return if he left the national team for a third time and described the squad as having finished the meal he started to prepare. Cannavaro, for his part, said he was honoured by the job and that he did not come to change everything, only to continue the work already started. The next question is whether that continuity is enough when the first opponent is Colombia, and the answer begins to take shape in Mexico City on 17 June.
