“My favorite team is Colombia. And it’s going to be Colombia, and all the positivism and all the energy is going to be for the Colombian team, because I think there is a good group, because I think we have what we have and we are going to give it all our strength,” declared Abel Aguilar, former player of the national team in the 2014 Brazil and 2018 World Cups in Russia, during an interview with Infobae Colombia.
The former midfielder highlighted his excitement and optimism regarding the national team’s participation in Group K of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to Aguilar, the main mental challenge for the group will be not to trust itself against its less high-profile rivals: “Not to go crazy with Portugal, because sometimes those teams that you think are not, end up making the road much more complicated.” He commented that experience has led him to value all the teams in the group, including Uzbekistan and the team that arrives from the playoffs, and that they should not be underestimated due to their lack of tradition.
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Aguilar, ambassador of Michelob Ultra, considered that Portugal is “one of the best teams in the world”, highlighting the presence of “top players worldwide”. But he reiterated that Colombia has proven to be up to the task: “Colombia is capable of facing it. It has already done it, we have been doing it for many years. We are competing at the highest level, and let’s hope everything works well.”
Regarding mental preparation for this type of competition, the former player reflected on the importance of always facing the games with the same attitude: “You have to face them with the same way, with the same mentality. Yes, it is true that at some point it has cost us. So there is a lot of difference between a strong rival and one that is not so strong. That mentality changes a little for us there, but I think we have also grown.”
Aguilar highlighted the way in which the squad has matured and how the leaders, along with the younger players, must know how to handle the pressure of the event. “When there is a replacement, when there are young players, it can also cost a little, but at this point there are also leading players in a state of important maturity who will know how to guide the young players and will also understand how to approach the games.”
Recalling his experience in Brazil 2014, Aguilar described the special motivation that participating in a World Cup provides: “The excitement I had, that gives you an important plus. So here you can’t trust anyone, you have to face it in the same way.”
Finally, the former player, who played more than 80 games with the Yellows, insisted on the need for unconditional support and concentration against all rivals: “It is the way Colombia faces it. That is fundamental. They are different cultures, they are teams that want to be in a World Cup with enthusiasm and desire.”
The schedule of the Colombia team in Group K of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is as follows:
- June 17: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia – Mexico City – 9:00 pm
- June 23: Colombia vs. Intercontinental repechage (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica, New Caledonia) – Guadalajara – 9:00 pm
- June 27: Colombia vs. Portugal – Miami – 6:30 p. m.
“We want to go to the end and we have to think about it that way,” said Aguilar, conveying his confidence in the process and the aspiration to surpass what was achieved in Brazil 2014 (quarterfinals) by the team that he was a member of and coached by José Néstor Pékerman.
