Colombia has appeared in the FIFA World Cup on six occasions (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2014 and 2018).

In 2014, Colombia reached the quarter-finals, the best ever result by the team.

Colombia was originally selected to host the 1986 World Cup after a well-fought battle. However, due to financial deficiency, Colombia was unable to improve the facilities to meet FIFA's requirements in time. Mexico, after beating other contenders including the USA, replaced Colombia as the 1986 host country.

1962

  • Colombia didn't make it out of the group stage of the 1962 World Cup. The team lost two matches and drew one match, finishing with just one point behind Uruguay. Colombia lost 5-0 to Yugoslavia in its group match. It held the USSR to a 4-4 draw and lost 2-1 to Uruguay in another group game.

1990

  • Colombia made it out of the group stage of the 1990 World Cup for the first time. The team won 2-0 against the UAE in its first group game. It also won 1-0 against Yugoslavia in the second group game. The last group match of Colombia was played against Germany, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
  • Colombia proceeded to the 1990 World Cup Round of 16, where the team played against Cameroon. The team lost 2-1 to Cameroon, which ended their World Cup hopes.

1994

  • Colombia didn't make it out of the group stage at the 1994 World Cup. Romania won Colombia 3-1 in the first match of the group stage. USA also won Colombia 2-1 in the second group stage match of the 1994 World Cup. Colombia won 2-0 against Switzerland, but that was not enough to help the team proceed to the next stage.

1998

  • Colombia didn't make it out of the group stage of the 1998 World Cup. The team lost 1-0 to Romania in its first group game. Next, the Los Cafeteros won 1-0 against Tunisia in the second group game of the tournament. Colombia lost 2-0 to England in its last Group G game.

2014

  • Colombia finished top of Group C with 9 points, ahead of Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan. The Los Cafeteros won 3-0 against Greece in the first group game. Next, the team won the Ivory Coast 2-1 in the second group game and also won Japan 4-1 in the final group game.
  • Colombia played against Uruguay in the Round of 16 and won the match by two goals to nil.
  • Colombia played against Brazil in the Quarter-finals of the competition, but lost 2-1 at the end of full-time.

2018

  • Colombia finished top of Group H with 6 points, ahead of Japan, Senegal, and Poland. The team lost 2-1 to Japan in its first group game, but quickly got back into the competition by winning its next two matches. Colombia won 3-0 against Poland and also won 1-0 against Senegal to qualify for the next round.
  • Colombia and England played a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. But, England eventually won the match 4-3 on penalties.

2022

  • Colombia did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

2026

  • Colombia has qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

Trivia

  • Colombia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon became the oldest player in FIFA World Cup history after appearing in a 4-1 win over Japan aged 43 in 2014.
  • Colombian player Andreas Escobar was killed by a soccer fan soon after he returned home from the USA '94. Colombia is one of the favorites, and its early exit shocked the Colombian people. Escobar scored a clear own goal in their loss to the USA in a crucial First Round game on 22/6/94. Two weeks later, he was shot dead by an angry fan in his hometown. The killer Humberto Muñoz sentenced to jail for 43 years, but was released on 6 October 2005 after serving just 11 years.