Matchday 17 of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played this Thursday. Several teams will have the chance to officially book their place in next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada—including Colombia. James Rodriguez’s squad will aim to take a major step against Bolivia.
The Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez in Barranquilla will host the clash between Colombia and Bolivia—two sides still fighting to qualify for the next World Cup, setting the stage for a high-stakes matchup.
At the moment, Colombia are in a direct qualification spot, but that could quickly change if they slip up. Nestor Lorenzo’s team sits sixth in the standings—the final automatic qualifying place—with 22 points.
Trailing just behind are Venezuela with 18 points. They hold seventh place, which leads to an intercontinental playoff for a final World Cup spot. Bolivia, meanwhile, are currently outside of contention with 17 points but sit just one point behind Venezuela.
What does Colombia need to qualify for the World Cup?
With a four-point cushion over their closest challengers—Venezuela—and only six points left in play, Colombia can clinch a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup this Thursday with a home win over Bolivia.
A victory would take Lorenzo’s squad to 25 points and out of reach of Venezuela, rendering their final qualifier—ironically against Venezuela—effectively meaningless for Colombia.
There’s also a second path to qualification: simply matching or bettering Venezuela’s result against Argentina. Given the current four-point gap in the standings, Venezuela must close the gap by at least one point on Matchday 17. If they don’t, they can no longer catch Colombia.
Colombia must seal qualification on Thursday
While Colombia are in a favorable position to qualify, needing just 3 of the remaining 6 points to control their own fate, the team still faces real pressure—starting with the need to improve their form. Colombia are winless in their last six qualifiers, with three losses and three draws.
And that’s not all. While on paper they have the easier assignment—hosting Bolivia while Venezuela face powerhouse Argentina on the road—the pressure could mount if they fail to lock things up on Thursday.
If results don’t go their way and Colombia don’t clinch this week, everything will come down to Matchday 18 next Tuesday. That would set the stage for a much tougher scenario: a direct showdown in Maturin, away against Venezuela, with a World Cup ticket on the line.
How many World Cups has James Rodriguez played in?
At 34 years old, James Rodriguez remains Colombia’s biggest star—even ahead of Luis Diaz. The former Real Madrid midfielder is almost certainly looking at his last shot to play in another World Cup, as he’ll be 39 by the time the 2030 edition rolls around.
Rodriguez has a significant history with the tournament. He burst onto the global stage at Brazil 2014, where he led Colombia on a historic run to the quarterfinals—falling to the hosts—and won the Golden Boot with five goals, earning a spot in the tournament’s Best XI.
His second—and so far, last—World Cup experience came at Russia 2018. There, both his and the team’s performances were far less memorable. He saw limited minutes during the group stage, registering two assists, but an injury kept him out of the Round of 16 match against England, where Colombia were eliminated on penalties.