Thousands of Colombian supporters turned central Mexico City into a pre-match celebration on Tuesday, with the crowd building around Paseo de la Reforma and the Ángel de la Independencia before Colombia’s Wednesday meeting with Uzbekistan.
The answer to what time does Colombia play is what fans were chasing all day, but the gathering had already become the story. At least 65,000 Colombian fans were expected at the Estadio Azteca, and the match against Uzbekistan is set to close the first round of the Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026. By late Tuesday, Paseo de la Reforma had been closed from the Bosque de Chapultepec to the Monumento a la Revolución starting at 5 p.m., a sign of how fast the celebration had taken over the center of the city.
Juan Ortiz, who said he was visiting Mexico for the first time, came from Cali and found himself in the middle of that surge. He said he had been especially taken by tacos al pastor and quesadillas, joking that the food was “Del chile que pica,” before adding that he had found in Mexico a country where Colombians felt at home. Silvia López, from Barranquilla, said the experience had changed the mood she expected before the tournament, because she had come thinking Colombia and Mexico would be rivals and instead found herself embraced by local support.
That sense of welcome did not soften the volume. Visitors learned to dance Payaso de Rodeo and La Chona during the banderazo, and when a light drizzle turned into a storm, the celebration simply moved under the roofs of bars and restaurants. Even after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, fans were still singing under the Ángel de la Independencia, a reminder that the anticipation for Wednesday had already spilled well past the street party and into the night.
Manuel R. Medina, a sports journalist based in Tijuana with more than 10 years covering Liga MX, Liga de Ascenso, NFL, NBA, MLB and other sports, said the scale of the buildup fit what he had seen before at two World Cups, Sudáfrica 2010 and Brasil 2014, as well as Copa América Chile 2015 and Copas Oro. For Colombia, the next step is simple: play Uzbekistan on Wednesday. What remains unclear is the kickoff time, the detail fans still needed as they packed the city and waited for the stadium to open.
