Colombia and Costa Rica face each other in a friendly match on Monday, June 1, at 8 p.m. Brasília time at El Campín stadium in Bogotá. The game will be shown exclusively on Sportv.
The match serves as Colombia’s farewell to its fans before traveling to the United States for the World Cup. Néstor Lorenzo’s team is returning to the tournament after missing the 2022 edition. Colombia finished third in the qualifying stage and comes into the match after two straight friendly defeats, against Croatia and France. The team is in Group K of the World Cup alongside Portugal, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uzbekistan.
Colombia is expected to rotate some players, especially those who joined the squad later, such as Daniel Muñoz, Jefferson Lerma and Jhon Arias. Even so, the team is likely to rely on key names such as goalkeeper Vargas, defenders Santi Arias, Davinson Sánchez, Lucumí and Mojica, midfielders Richard Ríos, Juan Camilo Portilla and Gustavo Puerta, and attackers James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz and Luis Suárez.
Costa Rica, meanwhile, finished third in its qualifying group and did not reach the World Cup. Fernando Batista’s team will use the FIFA date to reorganize its sporting project and continue evaluating players for the future. The expected lineup includes Patrick Sequeira in goal; Jeyland Mitchell, Aarón Salazar, Joseth Peraza and John Ruiz in defense; Orlando Galo, Andrey Soto and Luis Flores in midfield; and Álvaro Zamora, Josimar Alcocer and Manfred Ugalde in attack.
The friendly offers Colombia a chance to end its preparation in front of home supporters and try to recover from recent poor results. For Costa Rica, it is an opportunity to test alternatives and reset after failing to qualify for the tournament.
