Seven days. That’s all it is until the biggest event in the soccer calendar, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, gets underway.
In all of the anticipation for the tournament, fans around the world are submitting their predictions for what they think will happen this summer.
Potential winners, biggest disappointments, top goalscorers and Player of the Tournament are among the categories that dominate pre-tournament discussions. However, one topic that often sparks the most debate is identifying the competition’s biggest dark horse, a team that may not be among the favourites but has the quality to mount a serious challenge for glory.
This is the one category where people can truly flex their soccer knowledge with rogue and niche shouts.
Full list of darkhorses
In recent years, Turkey have found itself top of that list with some bright and exciting young stars like Real Madrid’s Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız from Juventus waving the flag.
Their run to the UEFA European Championships quarter-finals in 2024 is what people expected, but the country will be participating in their first World Cup in 24 years.
Beyond the classic names tipped to compete for the highest honour in world football, nations such as Austria, Norway, Morocco and Senegal have all been on the lips of fans who look to showcase their soccer IQ.
From Austria’s eye-catching performance at the 2024 Euros under masterful tactician Ralf Rangnick to Norway’s youthful ‘golden generation’, the topic of ‘darkhorse’ is as subjective as it gets.
However, one country that has been tossed around as a potential darkhorse this summer is Colombia.
Can Colombia win the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Rarely spoken about in this conversation, Colombia have been building a star-studded lineup away from the limelight after failing to qualify for the most recent World Cup in 2022.
Disappointment four years prior has only fuelled the fire to resurrect this emerging Colombian squad, which managed to reach the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América, only denied glory by an extra-time winner by Lautaro Martínez for reigning World Cup winners, Argentina.
Veteran stars like David Ospina, Yerry Mina, Davinson Sánchez and Luis Díaz all make the squad, while it will be an almost-certain farewell campaign for legendary playmaker James Rodríguez, who will captain the side.
What excites me about Colombia is the quality they possess throughout the squad, especially in attacking areas. Players such as Luis Díaz, widely considered one of the best wingers in world football, are complemented by the likes of Luis Suárez, who scored 28 goals for Sporting Lisbon this season, and Cucho Hernández, who played a key role in helping Real Betis secure UEFA Champions League qualification. With so much firepower at their disposal, Colombia have no shortage of players capable of finding the back of the net.
The same can be said about their midfield, with players like Richard Ríos, who settled comfortably into a Benfica side which managed to go invincible in Portugal and Jefferson Lerma, who enters the fray as a newly crowned UEFA Conference League winner with Crystal Palace.
Colombia’s squad for the 2026 World Cup
This is Néstor Lorenzo’s full 26-man squad that will compete in North America this summer:
Goalkeepers
- Álvaro Montero (Velez Sarsfield)
- Camilo Vargas (Atlas)
- David Ospina (Atlético Nacional)
Defenders
- Jhon Lucumí (Bologna)
- Davinson Sánchez (Galatasaray)
- Willer Ditta (Cruz Azul)
- Yerry Mina (Cagliari)
- Johan Mojica (Mallorca)
- Daniel Muñoz (Crystal Palace)
- Santiago Arias (Independiente)
Midfielders
- Richard Riós (Benefica)
- Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace)
- Kevin Castaño (River Plate)
- Gustavo Puerta (Racing Santander)
- Juan Portilla (Athletico Paranaense)
- Jorge Carrascal (Flamengo)
- Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate)
- James Rodríguez (Minnesota)
Attackers
- Luis Días (Bayern Munich)
- Andrés Gomez (Vasco da Gama)
- Jáminto Campaz (Rosario Central)
- Jhon Arías (Palmeiras)
- Luis Suárez (Sporting Lisbon)
- Cucho Hernández (Real Betis
- Jhon Córdoba (Krasnodar)
Colombia’s route to glory?
Colombia’s World Cup credentials will be tested in the group stages as they face a Portugal side tipped for greatness this summer, while also facing World Cup debutants Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The knockouts are where it becomes difficult to predict, especially as the best-performing ‘third-place’ teams will also make it into the round of 16. However, many expect Colombia to face one of the teams from Group L (England, Croatia, Ghana or Panama).
If they survive that, they could find themselves up against one of the joint-hosts, Mexico, at the infamous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. On paper, Colombia would be favoured to qualify, but against a host nation and tens of thousands of their fans, Néstor Lorenzo’s side would be right up against it.
Beyond that point is a complete mystery, but one thing that is for sure is that Colombia will come to the table full of confidence and expectation as they look to build on their best-ever performance, where they reached the quarter-finals in 2014.
