Colombia is making a strong comeback after missing out on the 2022 World Cup. As runners-up in the 2024 Copa América and under manager Néstor Lorenzo, the team is brimming with quality and confidence. Their opening match against Uzbekistan in Mexico City will be a real test of their mettle.

Manager Néstor Lorenzo has named three goalkeepers for Los Cafeteros: Camilo Vargas, Álvaro Montero and David Ospina. Colombia will face Portugal, Uzbekistan and the DR Congo in Group K and are considered one of the strongest South American teams in the tournament. The trio of goalkeepers brings together two generations and three completely different career paths – from the Mexican league to Argentina, from Arsenal’s first-choice keeper to a returnee.

Vargas is 37 years old and Lorenzo’s clear first choice. He has been with Atlas Guadalajara in Mexico’s Liga MX since 2019, where he has established himself as the club’s most reliable goalkeeper over seven seasons. This season, he has made 26 appearances, keeping four clean sheets. His highlight at club level was winning the double with Atlas in 2021/22 – the Apertura and Clausura in a single calendar year, a first for the club in 70 years. With over 56 international caps, he is Lorenzo’s tried-and-tested first-choice keeper, having played throughout the World Cup qualifiers. A muscle injury in January 2026 briefly sidelined him, but he had recovered in time. Vargas is not a showman in goal, but one who impresses through consistency both between the posts and in the dressing room.

Montero is 31 years old and stands at 200 cm tall, making him one of the most physically imposing goalkeepers in the entire tournament. His career path took him from São Caetano in Brazil via San Lorenzo, Cúcuta Deportivo and Deportes Tolima to Millonarios in Bogotá, where he won the national championship three times between 2022 and 2025. Since July 2025, he has been on loan at Vélez Sarsfield in the Argentine Primera División – he has made eleven appearances this season. With eleven international caps since 2019, he is clearly the second choice at international level and, physically, the most interesting backup Colombia has ever had.

Ospina is 37 years old and, with 129 international caps, holds the record for the most appearances in the history of Colombian football. His career path: Atlético Nacional, OGC Nice, Arsenal, Napoli, Al Nassr – and in the summer of 2024, a return to Atlético Nacional, where he began in 2005. It was there that he won the Copa Colombia for the first time that same year. This season, he has made seven league appearances with a save percentage of 87.5 per cent – solid figures for a supporting role, which he fulfils with dignity at the club close to his heart.

Ospina is a Colombian national hero. He featured at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups. 2026 will be his fourth World Cup. His contract in Medellín expires in June 2026. Everything suggests that this will be his last major tournament, and Lorenzo is sending him off with dignity as third-choice keeper, not as a forgotten legend.