MIAMI (WSVN) - South Florida’s passionate Colombian soccer fans gathered in watch parties across South Florida to cheer for their team.
A sea of yellow took over FIFA Fan Fest at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, Wednesday night, as hundreds of fans watched the game between Colombia and Uzbekistan. It was Uzbekistan’s first World Cup game.
At Manantial Marketplace in Miami, fans wore national jerseys to support the team and their star player James Rodríguez.
“That’s our idol, so we definitely want to see him shine,” said Carlos Echeverry.
Other fans shared their hopes for Colombia to win it all.
“They should win this, they should win. Hopefully they come out to win, they don’t have a bad team this year, we’ll see how it goes. But they have a solid squad, I think they could pull it out this year,” said Alfredo Castro, a Colombia fan.
Kamila Monterrosa was the lone Uzbekistan fan at the Manantial watch party.
“I’m originally from Uzbekistan; I was born in Uzbekistan,” she said.
Monterrosa said she was dragged by her Colombian friend to watch the game.
“It’s been 34 years, and we’ve been waiting for this moment,” she said. “Going against such a strong team, that they’ve been at every World Cup here, like participating, and I’m so proud of my country.”
But Colombia actually missed out on being being at 2022’s World Cup.
“I feel like we have our team back; it’s been a long time, and I feel like we’re very solid this year,” said Cami Cardozo
The fans’ wish for a win was granted at around midnight on Thursday. The Colombian team emerged triumphant after beating Uzbekistan 3-1.
Colombia is next slated to play against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, while Uzbekistan will be squaring off against Portugal, also on Tuesday.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.