Tashkent is approximately fourteen thousand kilometres from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where Uzbekistan will play their opening World Cup fixture on 17 June against Congo DR. The distance is a fact the squad has been living with since the draw confirmed it.
Uzbekistan’s qualification is the headline of Group K. It is the first time in history that a team from Central Asia has qualified for the men’s World Cup finals. The group contains Portugal, ranked fifth and captained by Cristiano Ronaldo; Colombia, ranked 13th; and Congo DR, ranked 46th and arriving with a squad drawn largely from Belgian and French club football. Uzbekistan, at 50th, are the fourth team on paper and the piece of football history the group carries.
Colombia (FIFA rank: 13)
James Rodríguez is the most established name in Colombia’s squad, capable of creating from midfield and driving a forward press with the technical range that makes him one of the more watchable players in any tournament. Luis Díaz offers a different quality wide of the front line: directness, pace, the ability to create chances from contact situations. The defence, organised around Davinson Sánchez and Yerry Mina, is experienced. Schedule: Uzbekistan at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City on 18 June, Congo DR at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on 24 June, Portugal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on 27 June.
Portugal (FIFA rank: 5)
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the squad’s highest-profile player. The engine in 2026 is Bruno Fernandes in midfield, Bernardo Silva’s capacity to create from a variety of positions, and Rúben Dias organising a defensive structure that is among the better-organised in this group. Rafael Leão and Pedro Neto offer forward options independent of Ronaldo’s form. Schedule: Congo DR at NRG Stadium in Houston on 17 June, Uzbekistan at NRG Stadium on 23 June, Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on 27 June.
Uzbekistan (FIFA rank: 50)
Uzbekistan qualified through the AFC, a competition that has grown more technically demanding as Japan, South Korea, and Australia have raised the ceiling. Eldor Shomurodov is the most familiar name in European football terms, having played in Serie A. Jaloliddin Masharipov provides creativity in midfield. Abdukodir Khusanov has become one of the more reliable defenders in this squad. Schedule: Congo DR at NRG Stadium on 17 June, Portugal at NRG Stadium on 23 June, Colombia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 27 June.
Congo DR (FIFA rank: 46)
Congo DR draw almost entirely from European clubs. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Arthur Masuaku, and Chancel Mbemba form a defence accustomed to high-level club football. Cédric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa are forwards capable of troubling organised lines. The squad is more coherent than 46th suggests when measured against the club environments its players inhabit. Schedule: Uzbekistan at NRG Stadium on 17 June, Colombia at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on 24 June, Portugal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on 27 June.
Who advances on paper
Colombia and Portugal should qualify. The final-day Colombia-Portugal match in Miami will determine the group winner and the seeding implications for the knockout round draw. Uzbekistan’s most realistic path to a third-place slot runs through their opening fixture against Congo DR. The best-8-of-12-third-place calculation means three or four points from Group K’s third-place side can carry through.
The closer
Houston, in late June, has a humidity that Central Asian athletes train specifically to manage. The logistics of a first World Cup are not only tactical: the hotel nobody in the squad has stayed in at this level, the press conferences in multiple languages, the realisation that the tournament they spent years qualifying for is now the place they are actually standing. Shomurodov has played in Italy and knows what a large stadium feels like. His presence in Group K says what the ranking does not.
