Lugano says Colombia can beat any rival at World Cup 2026

Diego Lugano, the former Uruguay captain and Copa América 2011 winner, said Colombia has the kind of squad that can beat any rival at the World Cup if it fully believes it belongs at the top level. His view centers on a simple question: whether Colombia’s biggest obstacle is still confidence, not ability.

The case for that optimism is not thin. Colombia reached the Copa América 2024 final and lost 1-0 to Argentina in extra time on July 14, 2024, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. That run also carried Colombia to 28 straight matches without defeat, the longest unbeaten streak in its history, and CONMEBOL noted that the national team had returned to a Copa América final for the first time in more than two decades.

That form gave Néstor Lorenzo’s team a hard statistical base before the World Cup cycle turned toward 2026. FIFA unveiled Colombia’s 26-man squad on May 24, 2026, with Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez among the headline names, and placed Colombia in Group K alongside Congo DR, Portugal and Uzbekistan. The group offers little margin for error, especially with Portugal in the same section, but it also gives Colombia a clear path to test itself against a European heavyweight and two opponents it will be expected to handle.

Lugano’s view matters because he is not speaking from the outside. As a former captain of Uruguay, he spent years in the middle of South American World Cup battles, and he has already framed Colombia in that context before, describing it as a direct rival in the region’s qualifying and tournament cycles. That perspective gives extra weight to his argument that the team’s real challenge is psychological: a squad that has already shown it can defend, transition and compete for 90 minutes still has to convince itself that those traits are enough to carry it deep into the tournament.

For Colombia, the evidence is there in the results, the depth and the structure Lorenzo has assembled. What Lugano is asking for now is belief strong enough to match them.