Published on 6/24/2026
The Colombian national team qualified for the round of 32 of the World Cup after a valuable victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in Group 11, on Tuesday.
Colombia won four of its five World Cup matches against African teams, and its only defeat in such confrontations came against Cameroon in 1990, with two goals by legendary star Roger Milla against goalkeeper Rene Higuita.
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Rodriguez with Valderrama and Rincon
During the match, James Rodriguez played his 10th match with the Colombian national team in the World Cup, equaling the record for the most Colombian players participating in the tournament, equal to Carlos Valderrama and Freddy Rincon, which means that he is guaranteed to hold the record when he participates in the next match.
Rodriguez created five chances in this match, the most for a Colombian player in a World Cup match since Carlos Valderrama (5) against England in 1998.
Luis Diaz fell into the offside trap five times, the most for a Colombian player in a World Cup match (since 1966). Robin van Persie (6 against Costa Rica in 2014) is the last player to be caught offside more than that in a single match at the tournament.
Daniel Muñoz became the fourth Colombian player to score in two consecutive World Cup matches, the first since Yerry Mina in the 2018 World Cup. With his two goals, he is now the second most goals-scoring defender for the Colombian national team in the history of the tournament, behind only Yerry Mina (3).
Muñoz also became the fourth player to score in each of his first two World Cup matches with Colombia, after Adolfo Valencia (1994), James Rodriguez (who scored in his first five matches), and Yerry Mina (who scored in his first three matches).
The Colombian national team won its first two matches in the group stage of the World Cup for the second time in the history of its seven participations, having achieved this previously in 2014 when it recorded its best achievement (the quarter-finals).
Colombia had 20 shots against DR Congo, their highest tally in a single World Cup match since they had 21 shots against Tunisia in 1998.
5 saves in 20 minutes
On the other hand, Lionel Mbasi, the goalkeeper of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, became the first goalkeeper to make five saves during the first 20 minutes of a World Cup match, since Warren Barrett, the Jamaican goalkeeper against Argentina in 1998.
The Democratic Republic of Congo conceded only two goals in two matches in this year’s World Cup, compared to the 11 goals they conceded in their first two matches under the name Zaire in their first participation in the tournament in 1974.
