Colombia men's national football team

History

Early history (1900–1946)

The origins of football in Colombia are disputed, as no single city or date is universally accepted. Most accounts place the first organised matches in the early 20th century on the Caribbean coast, particularly around Barranquilla and Santa Marta, where British railway workers on the Puerto Colombia line and English sailors introduced association football to local communities. Bogotá and Pasto have also laid claim to the sport's introduction, and among the earliest documented fixtures is an October 1909 friendly in Santa Marta between a United Fruit Company works team fielding English players and a side of local labourers. One documented account places the first match on 6 August 1904, when executives and workers of The Colombia Railways Company played in Barranquilla, following informal games organised by employees since around 1900.

Colombian football's first governing body was founded in Barranquilla on 12 October 1924 as the Liga de Football del Atlántico, gaining legal recognition from the national government by resolution in 1927. Reconstituted as the Asociación Colombiana de Fútbol, it joined both FIFA and CONMEBOL in 1936, and adopted its present name, the Colombian Football Federation, upon receiving definitive FIFA recognition in 1971. Colombia's first recorded international match came on 17 February 1926, when a side representing the Atlantic coast and playing as Selección Atlántico defeated Costa Rica 4–1 at the Estadio Moderno Julio Torres in Barranquilla.

In 1937, Colombia fielded a representative side at the Juegos del IV Centenario de Cali, a multi-sport event marking the 400th anniversary of Cali's founding, and played four matches against Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Cuba at the newly inaugurated Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero. Despite FIFA membership, Colombia withdrew from the 1938 FIFA World Cup and instead entered the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games in Panama City, where the national team played its first tournament matches. The squad was drawn in its entirety from Club Juventud Bogotana, a Bogotá side founded the previous year that lent all of its players to the selection and, on returning home, was reconstituted as the Club Municipal de Deportes and ultimately became Millonarios.

Colombia opened with a 3–1 defeat to Mexico on 10 February, then recorded a maiden tournament victory on 14 February by beating hosts Panama 4–2. Narrow losses to Costa Rica (1–2) and Venezuela (1–2) were offset by a 3–2 win over El Salvador, and Colombia beat the same opponents 2–1 in the third-place play-off on 25 February to claim the bronze medal. The side remained together on returning to Bogotá, competing at the 1938 Bolivarian Games in August, where it defeated Venezuela 2–0 but lost to Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.

El Dorado and international isolation (1948–1957)

Colombian football turned professional in 1948 with the founding of the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (DIMAYOR), a Bogotá-based body which organised a ten-club national championship in competition with Adefútbol, the FIFA-affiliated amateur association based in Barranquilla. When Adefútbol refused to sanction the breakaway, FIFA disaffiliated DIMAYOR, and the resulting suspension barred both Colombian clubs and the national team from all international competition for the period from 1949 to 1954 that became known as El Dorado.

Freed from the obligation to pay transfer fees, and coinciding with a players' strike that had halted the Argentine championship, Colombian clubs recruited aggressively abroad; by the end of 1949 some 109 foreign players, 57 of them Argentine, had joined the league. Millonarios assembled the side known as the Ballet Azul, built around Argentines Adolfo Pedernera, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Néstor Rossi, which won four championships in five seasons and beat Real Madrid 4–2 in Madrid on 30 March 1952 to win the Spanish club's golden jubilee tournament. The exodus prompted complaints of piracy from the Argentine federation, and FIFA formally expelled Colombia on 25 October 1951. Days later, at the CONMEBOL congress in Peru, DIMAYOR signed the Pacto de Lima, agreeing that all foreign players signed during the period would return to their original clubs by 15 October 1954 in exchange for readmission. The sanction was lifted in October 1954, ending an era in which the national team played no official fixtures at all despite the domestic league arguably being the strongest in the world.

Colombia returned to CONMEBOL competition at the 1957 South American Championship in Lima, a seven-team round-robin from which Bolivia and Paraguay had withdrawn, and finished fifth with four points from six matches under coach Pedro López. Heavy defeats to Argentina (2–8) on 13 March and Brazil (0–9) on 24 March left the side with ten goals scored and 25 conceded, but two victories provided encouragement. On 17 March, Carlos Arango scored in the 28th minute to beat reigning champions Uruguay 1–0 before 50,000 spectators at the Estadio Nacional, and the campaign closed on 1 April with a 4–1 win over Ecuador in which Delio Gamboa scored twice. Arango and Gamboa finished as Colombia's joint top scorers with three goals each, while goalkeeper Efraín Sánchez and defender Francisco Zuluaga started every match after the opening fixture.

First World Cup appearance (1958–1962)

Colombia entered World Cup qualifying for the first time in 1961, meeting Peru over two legs under Argentine manager Pedernera, who had remained in the country after El Dorado as a coach. A 1–0 win in Bogotá on 30 April 1961 was followed by a 1–1 draw in Lima a week later, and Colombia advanced to the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.

Drawn in Group 1 with Uruguay, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Colombia lost their opening match to Uruguay 2–1 on 30 May and were beaten 5–0 by Yugoslavia on 7 June, finishing bottom of the group with a single point from three games and five goals scored against eleven conceded. Their remaining fixture, however, produced one of the tournament's defining results. Facing the reigning European champions at the Estadio Carlos Dittborn in Arica on 3 June before a crowd of 8,040, with Brazilian referee João Filho officiating, Colombia trailed 3–0 inside eleven minutes to goals from Valentin Ivanov in the eighth and eleventh minutes either side of an Igor Chislenko strike in the tenth. Germán Aceros reduced the deficit in the 21st minute, but Viktor Ponedelnik restored a three-goal lead in the 56th.

With twenty minutes remaining, Marcos Coll scored directly from a corner in the 68th minute, the ball creeping in at the near post past Lev Yashin — the only goal scored direct from a corner in World Cup history, and conceded by a goalkeeper then widely regarded as the world's finest. Antonio Rada struck in the 72nd minute and Marino Klinger completed the recovery late on to secure a 4–4 draw. The match is remembered as the moment the national team announced itself internationally, despite the group-stage exit, and Colombia would not qualify for another World Cup for 28 years.

Isolation and the qualification drought (1963–1974)

The 1962 FIFA World Cup proved a false dawn. At the 1963 South American Championship in Bolivia, Colombia lost five of six matches and finished last of the seven competing nations with a single point, conceding nineteen goals in the thin air of La Paz and Cochabamba.

Three successive qualifying campaigns followed the same pattern of narrow competence undone by a single heavy defeat. Colombia were beaten twice by Ecuador and thrashed 7–2 by Chile in the 1966 preliminaries, recovering only to win the return 2–0 once elimination was assured. Drawn with Brazil for Mexico 1970, they took a point from six matches against the eventual world champions and Paraguay combined, losing 6–2 in Rio de Janeiro.

The 1974 campaign was the cruellest of the three. Under the Yugoslav coach Toza Veselinović, Colombia went unbeaten across four matches, drawing three and winning in Montevideo 1–0 through Willington Ortiz on 5 July 1973 — a result long remembered in Colombia as a rare reverse for Uruguay at home. Colombia finished level with Uruguay on five points but were eliminated on goal difference.

The Copa América final (1975)

The renamed and decentralised 1975 Copa América produced Colombia's first deep run in a continental tournament. Coached by Efraín Sánchez, the goalkeeper of the 1962 squad, Colombia won all four group matches against Paraguay and Ecuador, scoring seven and conceding one. In the semi-final they overwhelmed the defending champions Uruguay 3–0 at the Estadio El Campín through Edgar Angulo, Ortiz and Ernesto Díaz; the return at the Estadio Centenario finished 1–0 to Uruguay, whose Fernando Morena converted an early penalty before being sent off and whose team missed two further spot-kicks. With the sides level on points, Colombia advanced on goal difference.

The final against Peru was the first in the competition's history to be decided over multiple legs. Ponciano Castro settled the opening match in Bogotá on 16 October with a long-range strike; Peru answered a week later at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, Juan Carlos Oblitas and Oswaldo Ramírez scoring inside the first half for a 2–0 win that levelled the tie on points and forced a decider on neutral ground. At the Estadio Olímpico in Caracas on 28 October, Hugo Sotil — flown in from Barcelona — scored the only goal before 30,000 spectators, and Peru claimed a second continental title. Ernesto Díaz finished as the tournament's joint leading scorer with four goals, a total that still ranks among the highest by a Colombian at the Copa América.

Stagnation and a forfeited World Cup (1976–1986)

Runners-up status brought no lasting improvement. Colombia failed to win any of their four matches in the 1978 qualifiers, managing one goal across the group and losing 6–0 in Rio de Janeiro. At the 1979 Copa América they again finished level on points with Chile after beating them 1–0 in Bogotá and putting four past Venezuela, only to be eliminated on goal difference following a 2–0 defeat in Santiago. The 1982 campaign, overseen by the Argentine Carlos Bilardo, yielded two points from four matches and no victories, Hernán Darío Herrera scoring three of Colombia's four goals. A second-place group finish behind Peru ended the 1983 Copa América campaign.

Overshadowing the decade was the collapse of Colombia's own World Cup. Awarded hosting rights to the 1986 FIFA World Cup in 1974, the country found FIFA's stadium, broadcasting and infrastructure requirements beyond its means as the economy contracted and internal violence escalated. In a televised address on 25 October 1982, President Belisario Betancur renounced the tournament, declaring that the golden rule "that the World Cup should serve Colombia, and not Colombia the World Cup multinational" had not been honoured and that the country had "no time to attend to the extravagances of FIFA and its partners". No nation had previously surrendered a World Cup already granted to it; FIFA reassigned the 1986 finals to Mexico. Construction already under way left a permanent legacy in the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla, later adopted as the national team's home ground.

Colombia nonetheless entered the qualifying tournament for the finals they had abandoned, finishing third in a group won by Argentina and reaching the CONMEBOL play-offs. A 3–0 defeat in Asunción on 27 October 1985, Ramón Hicks, Romerito and Roberto Cabañas scoring, left the tie beyond recovery; goals from Sergio Angulo and Ortiz gave Colombia a 2–1 win in Cali a week later before a crowd of only 6,000, and Paraguay progressed 4–2 on aggregate.

Maturana, narco-fútbol and the return to the World Cup (1987–1989)

The transformation began in May 1987, when the federation appointed Francisco Maturana — a former Once Caldas and Atlético Nacional coach then in charge of the youth setup — to the senior side. Maturana discarded the reactive schemes of his predecessors for a possession-based approach built on short passing, zonal marking and a crowded midfield, and licensed René Higuita to operate far from his goal as a sweeper-keeper — a style Colombian supporters came to call toque-toque.

His first tournament brought immediate reward. Colombia went through the group stage of the 1987 Copa América unbeaten, lost 2–1 to Chile in the semi-final, then beat the hosts Argentina 2–1 at the Monumental on 11 July through Gabriel Jaime Gómez and John Jairo Galeano, Claudio Caniggia replying late before 15,000 spectators. Arnoldo Iguarán finished as the tournament's leading scorer with four goals.

The revival coincided with an influx of narcotics money into the domestic game. Atlético Nacional, funded through the Medellín Cartel and its leader Pablo Escobar, retained Colombian internationals who would otherwise have moved abroad and recruited foreign players the league could not previously afford; Maturana, who managed the club from 1987 to 1990, later acknowledged that "the introduction of drug money into soccer allowed us to bring in great foreign players. It also kept our best players from leaving. Our level of play took off." On 31 May 1989 Nacional, fielding Higuita, Andrés Escobar, Leonel Álvarez and Albeiro Usuriaga, beat Olimpia 5–4 on penalties at El Campín to become the first Colombian club to win the Copa Libertadores, supplying Maturana with a ready-made international spine.

Colombia were eliminated in the group stage of the 1989 Copa América in Brazil, a 1–0 loss to Paraguay proving decisive despite a goalless draw with the eventual champions. The World Cup qualifiers opened a fortnight later. Iguarán scored twice in a 2–0 win over Ecuador in Barranquilla on 20 August, and after a 2–1 defeat in Asunción — conceded to a stoppage-time penalty from the debutant José Luis Chilavert — and a goalless draw in Guayaquil, Colombia beat Paraguay 2–1 in Barranquilla through Iguarán and Rubén Hernández. Ecuador's 3–1 win over Paraguay on 24 September confirmed Colombia as group winners and sent them to an intercontinental play-off.

World Cup return and the golden generation (1990–1994)

At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Colombia were drawn in Group D with Yugoslavia, the United Arab Emirates and West Germany. They opened at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna on 9 June with a laboured 2–0 win over the United Arab Emirates, Bernardo Redín heading in Leonel Álvarez's pass in the 50th minute and Carlos Valderrama driving home from twenty yards five minutes from time — Colombia's first victory at a World Cup finals.

A 1–0 defeat by Yugoslavia left qualification resting on the final group match against West Germany in Milan on 19 June. Pierre Littbarski put the eventual world champions ahead in the 88th minute; with the last attack of the match, Freddy Rincón collected a through-ball from Valderrama and beat Bodo Illgner to secure the 1–1 draw and the point Colombia needed. Colombia finished third in Group D and advanced to the round of 16, their first appearance in a World Cup knockout round.

The round-of-16 tie against Cameroon at the Stadio San Paolo on 23 June remained goalless through 90 minutes. In extra time, the 38-year-old Roger Milla scored twice in three minutes, the second after intercepting René Higuita far outside his penalty area as the goalkeeper attempted to dribble past him; Redín replied with five minutes remaining, and Cameroon won 2–1 to become the first African side to reach a World Cup quarter-final.

Maturana departed shortly after the tournament and was succeeded by Luis Augusto García. Colombia topped their first-round group at the 1991 Copa América in Chile, beating Brazil 2–0 along the way, but lost all three matches in the four-team final round to finish fourth.

Maturana returned in 1993 to oversee qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. With Valderrama as captain, Colombia reached the semi-finals of the 1993 Copa América, eliminating Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals before losing 6–5 on penalties to Argentina after a goalless semi-final in Guayaquil. Adolfo Valencia scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over the hosts Ecuador in the third-place match in Portoviejo.

Colombia went through the 1994 qualifying group unbeaten, winning four and drawing two of six matches and conceding twice. The campaign closed on 5 September 1993 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, where a 5–0 victory over Argentina — two goals each for Rincón and Faustino Asprilla, and a fifth from Adolfo Valencia — sealed qualification and consigned the 1990 finalists to a play-off. The result made Colombia among the most widely tipped sides for the finals; Pelé named them his favourites for the title.

The 1994 World Cup and the death of Andrés Escobar

Colombia arrived at the 1994 FIFA World Cup without Higuita, who had spent seven months in the Cárcel Modelo in Bogotá during 1993 after accepting payment for acting as an intermediary in a kidnapping — an offence under Colombian law regardless of intent — and was unavailable for selection. Drawn in Group A with Romania, the United States and Switzerland, they lost their opening match 3–1 at the Rose Bowl on 18 June, Florin Răducioiu scoring twice and Gheorghe Hagi lobbing Óscar Córdoba from thirty yards; Valencia headed Colombia's reply.

In the days before the second match the midfielder Gabriel Jaime Gómez received telephoned threats against his family and home, and Maturana withdrew him from the starting eleven, later saying he could not put another person's life at risk. On 22 June, before 93,194 spectators at the Rose Bowl, the defender Andrés Escobar turned a low cross into his own net in the 34th minute; Earnie Stewart added a second after the interval and, though Valencia scored in the 90th, the United States won 2–1 for their first World Cup victory in 44 years, eliminating Colombia. A dead-rubber 2–0 win over Switzerland at Stanford Stadium on 26 June, through Hernán Gaviria and Harold Lozano, spared Colombia a tournament without a victory.

Ten days after the own goal, in the early hours of 2 July 1994, Escobar was shot dead at the age of 27 in a car park outside a bar in the Las Palmas district of Medellín, having been harangued about the goal by a group of men. His funeral in Medellín drew crowds of mourners and prompted national reflection on the violence surrounding the game. Humberto Muñoz Castro, a bodyguard employed by the alleged drug trafficker Santiago Gallón, confessed to the shooting and was sentenced to 43 years' imprisonment, of which he served eleven; investigators discounted early suggestions that gambling syndicates had ordered the killing, though the theory persisted.

Gómez, France 1998 and the end of the cycle (1995–1999)

Hernán Darío Gómez, known as El Bolillo, replaced Maturana in 1995. Colombia lost 2–0 to the hosts Uruguay in the semi-finals of the 1995 Copa América before beating the United States 4–1 in Maldonado to take third place, Wilmer Cabrera, Valderrama, Asprilla and Rincón all scoring. Two years later they were eliminated 2–1 by the hosts Bolivia in the quarter-finals of the 1997 Copa América.

Colombia reached the 1998 FIFA World Cup by finishing third in the first CONMEBOL qualifying tournament contested as a single home-and-away league, taking 28 points from sixteen matches — two behind Argentina and one behind Paraguay — with Asprilla their leading scorer on seven goals, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Chile in Barranquilla. Drawn in Group G with Tunisia, England and Romania, they lost 1–0 to Romania, beat Tunisia 1–0, and were eliminated on 26 June by England at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens. Darren Anderton volleyed England ahead in the 20th minute and David Beckham curled in a free kick from some 30 yards nine minutes later for his first international goal, Faryd Mondragón keeping the margin to 2–0 thereafter.

Gold Cup runners-up and the 2001 Copa América (2000–2001)

Colombia made their first appearance at the CONCACAF Gold Cup as invited guests in 2000, beating Jamaica 1–0 through Gonzalo Martínez and losing 2–0 to Honduras in a three-team group, both matches played at the Miami Orange Bowl. In the quarter-final on 19 February they twice came from behind against the hosts the United States — Faustino Asprilla cancelling out Brian McBride and Gerardo Bedoya equalising in the 81st minute after Chris Armas had scored — to draw 2–2 after extra time, then won the shootout 2–1 in a sequence in which six of the nine attempts failed. A 2–1 semi-final win over Peru at Qualcomm Stadium followed, an own goal by Marcial Salazar and a Víctor Bonilla strike putting Colombia through before a crowd of 3,402. In the final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 27 February, Canada won 2–0 through a Jason de Vos header in first-half stoppage time and a Carlo Corazzin penalty, before 6,197 spectators.

The 2001 Copa América, hosted by Colombia, was nearly lost to the country's security situation. CONMEBOL held three meetings on the matter: on 28 June 2001 the tournament was moved out of Colombia, on 30 June it was returned but postponed to 2002, and on 5 July the original schedule was confirmed. Canada, one of two invited guests, withdrew on 6 July and Argentina on 10 July, the day before the opening match; Costa Rica and Honduras were invited in their place. Honduras arrived with a hastily assembled squad and went on to reach the semi-finals.

Colombia won Group A with maximum points, all three matches played at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla: Venezuela were beaten 2–0 through Freddy Grisales and a Víctor Aristizábal penalty, Ecuador 1–0 through Aristizábal, and Chile 2–0 through an Aristizábal penalty and a 90th-minute goal from Iván Arriaga. Peru were beaten 3–0 in the quarter-finals at Armenia, Aristizábal scoring twice, and Honduras — who had eliminated Brazil in the previous round — were beaten 2–0 in the semi-final at the Estadio Palogrande in Manizales, Bedoya scoring inside six minutes and Aristizábal adding the second.

In the final at the Estadio El Campín in Bogotá on 29 July, before 47,000 spectators, Iván Córdoba headed in the only goal in the 65th minute to beat Mexico 1–0 and win Colombia's first major trophy. Colombia won the competition without conceding a goal, keeping six clean sheets in six matches and scoring eleven, the highest total of the tournament. They also took the fair play award, Óscar Córdoba was named best goalkeeper, and Aristizábal finished as top scorer with six goals.

Decline and managerial instability (2002–2009)

Colombia's 2001 Copa América title was followed by three unsuccessful FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns. The national team had six managerial spells under four coaches during the period: Francisco Maturana, Reinaldo Rueda, Maturana again, Rueda again, Jorge Luis Pinto and Eduardo Lara.

Maturana oversaw Colombia's failed 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, in which the team finished sixth with 27 points, level with fifth-placed Uruguay but behind on goal difference. Rueda then coached Colombia for three matches in May 2002, before Maturana returned in November 2002. Under Maturana, Colombia reached the semi-finals of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, losing 1–0 to Cameroon in a match overshadowed by the death of Cameroonian midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé, before losing 2–1 to Turkey in the third-place play-off.

Rueda returned in February 2004 and led Colombia through qualification for the 2006 World Cup. Colombia reached the semi-finals of the 2004 Copa América and the invited 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but again finished sixth in World Cup qualifying, with 24 points—one behind Uruguay in the inter-confederation play-off place.

The Colombian Football Federation appointed Pinto as Rueda's successor in December 2006. Colombia were eliminated in the group stage of the 2007 Copa América, before Pinto was dismissed in September 2008 following a 1–0 home defeat by Uruguay and a 4–0 loss to Chile in Santiago. Lara, formerly the federation's youth-team coach, initially replaced him on an interim basis.

Under Lara, Colombia finished seventh of ten teams in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, with 23 points and 14 goals in 18 matches. They were level on points and goal difference with sixth-placed Ecuador, but ranked below them on goals scored. A 4–2 home defeat to Chile on 10 October 2009 confirmed elimination, and Lara resigned after the campaign.

The Pékerman era and the golden generation (2011–2018)

At the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, Colombia won Group A ahead of the hosts with seven points and without conceding, beating Costa Rica 1–0 and Bolivia 2–0 either side of a goalless draw with Argentina, but were eliminated 2–0 by Peru in the quarter-finals at Córdoba after extra time.

José Pékerman, the Argentine who had taken his own country to the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals, was appointed head coach in January 2012. Colombia finished second in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with 30 points to reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup, ending a sixteen-year absence, and conceded only 13 goals — the second-best defensive record in the group behind Argentina.

Radamel Falcao, who had scored nine goals in qualification, ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee playing for Monaco in the Coupe de France in January 2014 and was omitted from the final 23-man squad on 2 June, Pékerman calling it "the saddest day I've had since becoming Colombia coach". Without him Colombia won all three Group C matches, beating Greece 3–0, Ivory Coast 2–1 and Japan 4–1. A 2–0 win over Uruguay at the Maracanã took them to a first World Cup quarter-final, where they lost 2–1 to the hosts Brazil in Fortaleza, James Rodríguez scoring a late penalty in a match that also produced the back injury which ended Neymar's tournament. Rodríguez won the Golden Boot with six goals and the FIFA Puskás Award for his volley against Uruguay.

The following two Copa Américas brought a quarter-final exit and a third-place finish. At the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Colombia lost 1–0 to Venezuela, beat Brazil 1–0 and drew 0–0 with Peru to advance third in Group C on four points with one goal scored; Argentina eliminated them 5–4 on penalties in Viña del Mar after a goalless quarter-final. At the Copa América Centenario in the United States they beat the hosts 2–0 and Paraguay 2–1 before losing 3–2 to Costa Rica to finish second in Group A. Peru were beaten 4–2 on penalties in the quarter-finals at East Rutherford, Chile won the semi-final 2–0 in Chicago, and Colombia took third place by beating the United States 1–0 in Glendale.

Colombia finished fourth in CONMEBOL with 27 points to reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup. They lost their opening match 2–1 to Japan in Saransk after Carlos Sánchez was sent off for a deliberate handball two minutes and 56 seconds in — the second-fastest dismissal in World Cup history, behind José Batista's for Uruguay in 1986 — then beat Poland 3–0 and Senegal 1–0 to top Group H. In the round of 16 at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, Yerry Mina equalised in the third minute of stoppage time to force a 1–1 draw with England; England won the shootout 4–3, Mateus Uribe striking the crossbar and Carlos Bacca's attempt being saved.

Queiroz, Rueda and a missed World Cup (2019–2022)

Pékerman stepped down in September 2018 after more than six years in charge, and the former Manchester United assistant and Iran manager Carlos Queiroz was presented as his successor in Bogotá on 7 February 2019. Colombia opened the 2019 Copa América by beating Argentina 2–0 in Salvador, their first win over La Albiceleste since 2007, then beat Qatar 1–0 and Paraguay 1–0 to take nine points from three matches without conceding. Chile eliminated them 5–4 on penalties in the quarter-finals in São Paulo after a goalless draw.

Colombia began the 2022 qualifiers with a 3–0 win over Venezuela and a 2–2 draw in Santiago, but form collapsed after the campaign's COVID-19 suspension. A 3–0 home defeat by Uruguay in Barranquilla on 13 November 2020 was followed four days later by a 6–1 loss in Quito. Queiroz departed on 1 December 2020, and on 14 January 2021 the federation announced the return of Reinaldo Rueda.

The 2021 Copa América, relocated to Brazil at short notice, brought a third-place finish. Colombia beat Ecuador 1–0, drew 0–0 with Venezuela, then lost 2–1 to Peru and 2–1 to Brazil to finish third in Group B on four points. They eliminated Uruguay 4–2 on penalties in the quarter-finals in Brasília, a match in which David Ospina passed Carlos Valderrama's appearance record to become Colombia's most-capped player. Argentina won the semi-final 3–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, and Colombia beat Peru 3–2 in the third-place match, Luis Díaz scoring twice to finish as the tournament's joint leading scorer with Lionel Messi on four goals.

Qualification for Qatar was lost to a scoring drought spanning seven consecutive matches. Although Colombia beat Venezuela 1–0 in their final fixture, they finished sixth on 23 points, one behind Peru, who took the play-off place. Rueda left shortly afterwards.

The Lorenzo era (2022–present)

On 2 June 2022, the federation appointed Néstor Lorenzo, an Argentine who had served as Pékerman's assistant, on a four-year contract. On 28 February 2023, it launched Fútbol con Futuro, a FIFA-supported development programme running from 2022 to 2025 and intended to strengthen the structures of all national teams.

Under Lorenzo, Colombia assembled a 28-match unbeaten run that included a 1–0 win over Spain in London through Daniel Muñoz. At the 2024 Copa América in the United States they won their group with seven points, beating Paraguay 2–1 and Costa Rica 3–0 and drawing 1–1 with Brazil, then beat Panama 5–0 in the quarter-finals and Uruguay 1–0 in the semi-final at Charlotte. In the final at Miami Gardens on 14 July, Argentina won 1–0 through a Lautaro Martínez goal in the 112th minute, ending the unbeaten run. Kick-off at the Hard Rock Stadium was delayed by roughly 80 minutes after unticketed supporters breached the perimeter gates; Miami-Dade County officials later attributed the disorder to inadequate intelligence gathering and insufficient security perimeters, and organisers settled a resulting class action for $14 million in November 2025.

Colombia qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on 4 September 2025 with a 3–0 win over Bolivia in Barranquilla, securing a seventh World Cup appearance and ending a six-match run without a victory. They closed the campaign with a 6–3 win in Maturín in which Luis Suárez scored four goals, eliminating Venezuela from the play-off place, and finished third on 28 points — the same total as Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, and separated from them only on goal difference.

Rivalries

Venezuela

Colombia and neighbouring Venezuela have met regularly in the South American Championship, the Copa América and World Cup qualification. Colombia has historically held the superior head-to-head record, but the fixture has gained importance as Venezuela's national team became more competitive from the late 1990s.

Venezuela's 1–0 victory in Barranquilla during 2006 World Cup qualification was regarded as a landmark result for the Venezuelan side. In 2026 World Cup qualification, Colombia won 1–0 in Barranquilla in September 2023 and 6–3 in Maturín in September 2025; the latter result eliminated Venezuela from contention for the CONMEBOL inter-confederation play-off place.

Argentina

Colombia first played Argentina at the 1945 South American Championship in Chile. Argentina holds the superior overall head-to-head record, but the fixture acquired greater prominence during qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Colombia beat Argentina 2–1 in Barranquilla in August 1993, ending Argentina's 31-match unbeaten run, before winning the return match 5–0 at the Estadio Monumental three weeks later. The result secured Colombia's direct qualification for the 1994 finals, handed Argentina its first home defeat in World Cup qualification, and remains one of the most notable results in Colombian football history.

Colombia also defeated Argentina 3–0 in the group stage of the 1999 Copa América, a match in which Martín Palermo missed three penalties. The fixture developed a more openly confrontational dimension during the 2021 Copa América semi-final. After a 1–1 draw, Argentina won the shootout 3–2; goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez repeatedly addressed Colombian takers during the shootout, while Lionel Messi taunted Yerry Mina after Martínez saved Mina's penalty, referring to the defender's goal celebration.

Argentina defeated Colombia 1–0 after extra time in the 2024 Copa América final. Their next competitive meeting came in 2026 World Cup qualification in September 2024, when Colombia beat the reigning Copa América champions 2–1 in Barranquilla. The return fixture in Buenos Aires in June 2025 ended 1–1 and included several confrontations between the teams, including a verbal exchange between Lionel Messi and James Rodríguez.

Home stadium

Colombia play most home World Cup qualifying matches at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez in Barranquilla. Opened in 1986, the stadium is the home ground of Atlético Junior and was renamed in 1991 in honour of Roberto Meléndez, a Colombian player and manager from Barranquilla. It hosted Colombia's home matches in the successful qualification campaigns for the 1990, 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup, and has remained the national team's principal qualifying venue.

The national team also plays home fixtures at other venues. Estadio Nemesio Camacho El Campín in Bogotá is the home ground of Independiente Santa Fe and Millonarios and hosted the 2001 Copa América final, in which Colombia beat Mexico 1–0 to win its first Copa América title.

Team image

Traditionally, Colombia's home colours are yellow shirts with a navy trim and navy or white shorts and socks, with their away colours being normally navy shirts. They wore their first ever red kit at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Colombia used red as their home colours in the 20th century, although in the Copa América Centenario the team played in an all-white kit for the first time in their history, before reverting to their iconic yellow and navy kits thereafter.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win

Draw

Loss

Fixture

Players

Current squad

The following 26 players were called up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and for the pre-tournament friendly matches against Costa Rica and Jordan on 29 May and 7 June 2026, respectively.

Caps and goals updated as of 7 July 2026, after the match against Switzerland.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up in the last twelve months.

Individual records

As of 7 July 2026.

Players in bold are still active with Colombia.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

1.^Played Intercontinental playoffs.

Copa América

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

Head-to-head record

Below is a result summary of all matches Colombia have played against FIFA recognized teams.

As of 7 July 2026

Positive Record

Neutral Record

Negative Record

Honours

Continental

Copa América

Champions (1): 2001

Runners-up (2): 1975, 2024

Third place (5): 1987, 1993, 1995, 2016, 2021

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Runners-up (1): 2000

Regional

Central American and Caribbean Games

Gold medal (1): 1946

Bronze medal (1): 1938

Friendly

Copa Centenario de Armenia (1): 1989

Marlboro Cup (1): 1990

Awards

FIFA Best Mover of the Year (1): 1993

FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy (1): 2014

Copa America Fair Play Award (1): 2024