The Colombian team will play friendly matches with Mexico and Canada in October and against New Zealand and Nigeria in November, all on fields in the United States, as part of its preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
This was confirmed by the president of the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), Ramón Jesurún, who explained that “the four matches this year (on the FIFA dates of October and November) are already duly defined.”
“We will play with Mexico and Canada, host teams of the Soccer World Cup and who will be seeded in that same World Cup, we will face them in the United States (in October),” the manager said in an interview with EFE.
Jesurún added: “In the month of November, also in the United States, we will face New Zealand, which has also just qualified for the World Cup through Oceania, and we will face the Nigerian team, an African team that has always been very competitive.”
The FCF had already confirmed that on Saturday, October 11 (9 pm ET) Colombia will play against Mexico at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Texas) and three days later, on Tuesday, October 14 (8 pm ET) the Colombian team will face Canada at the Sports Illustrated stadium located in Harrison (New Jersey), a few minutes from lower Manhattan, in New York.
Fans of the tri-state area can buy tickets to watch the “coffee growers” duel against the Canadians by entering the website https://cmnevents.com/on-tour/colombia-vs-canada/ or also in the link https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/000062D7C802449B .
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Meanwhile, the games against New Zealand and Nigeria will be played on the FIFA date between November 10 and 18 in the United States.
Colombia will face the New Zealanders on Saturday, November 15 (7 pm ET) at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while they will clash against the Nigerians on Tuesday, November 18 (8 pm ET) at Citi Field located in Queens, New York City.
These matches will serve as preparation for Colombia for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States and Canada, to which it qualified after finishing third in the South American qualifiers with 28 points after scoring a 3-0 to Bolivia and for 3-6 to Venezuela in his last two presentations, held this month.
Once the classification of the Colombian team was completed, its coach, the Argentine Néstor Lorenzo, celebrated that his team, after having faced “ups and downs”, finished in third place in the Conmebol qualifiers, only below Argentina and Ecuador.
“I think we are in the place we deserve to be,” Lorenzo declared in a press conference from the Venezuelan city of Maturín, where his pupils defeated “Vinotinto” 3-6, in the last game of the South American qualification, which left the home team out of the 2026 World Cup.
When evaluating his team’s journey, he admitted that “there were some ups and downs, especially in the results of several games” that he considered “overtime on big stages.” «But the team was the protagonist and always went out to find the games. And that is what we have to continue growing, continue improving,” he added.
Regarding his rival, Lorenzo considered that Venezuela “made it difficult for them in the first half.” «We knew how to recover, that’s the important thing. (…) Proud of this group, which always brings out the best at the right time,” he added.
Thus, the Colombian team reconfirmed its return to the FIFA World Cup after 8 years of absence.
