USB boot fails with instructions from docs

I wrote this image from the docs to a USB device:
https://dl.khadas.com/Firmware/VIM3/Ubuntu/SD_USB/VIM3_Ubuntu-server-focal_Linux-4.9_arm64_SD-USB_V1.0.7-210625.img.xz

Then I inserted the USB device and put the VIM 3 in upgrade mode.

It seems to access the USB device for a few seconds and then begin booting from the EMMC. I also tried a different USB device with the same results.

What could be the problem?

edit:
The fix was to decompress the image first. It has been a long day.