Colombia and Jordan are clashing for one last friendly prior to the beginning of the 2026 World Cup, with questions rising over the presence of James Rodriguez on the game. Colombia faces Jordan on Sunday, June 7, in their final pre-tournament friendly ahead of the 2026 World Cup at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California. With ten days remaining before their Group K opener against Uzbekistan, the key question is whether James Rodriguez will be in the starting lineup for the Cafeteros.
James Rodriguez is expected to start against Jordan. In the previous friendly against Costa Rica, head coach Nestor Lorenzo opted to rotate several starters, with James entering as a second-half substitute in what ended as a comfortable 3-1 victory for Colombia.
With their base camp established in Guadalajara, the Colombian national team arrived in San Diego on Friday and held multiple training sessions ahead of Sunday’s match. Their World Cup debut against Uzbekistan is set for Wednesday, June 17, giving Lorenzo and his staff ten more days to fine-tune the squad’s preparation.
Jordan, meanwhile, arrive in difficult form after a 4-1 defeat against Switzerland last Sunday. Drawn into Group J alongside Argentina, Algeria and Austria, the Asian side will be looking for an encouraging result against Colombia as they make their final preparations for their first World Cup appearance.
James Rodriguez of Colombia dribbles the ball against Alvaro Zamora of Costa Rica.
Jordan as a dry run for the Uzbekistan challenge
With ten days to go before the tournament opener and part of the squad having been rotated against Costa Rica, Lorenzo is expected to go closer to his first-choice lineup against Jordan, a side he views as tactically comparable to their first World Cup opponent.
“Jordan is a team that is tactically similar to Uzbekistan in that they play with a back five. They might suddenly play a 5-3-2 or a 5-4-1, just like Uzbekistan does too. So, well, Uzbekistan sometimes transitions—besides the back three—into a 3-4-3 when playing in a medium or high block, right?… Beyond the opponent, knowing how to face them, but finding the pathways that lead us to victory. That is the challenge of this match in particular,” Lorenzo said at his pre-match press conference.
Projected lineups for Colombia and Jordan
Colombia’s projected lineup (4-2-3-1): Camilo Vargas; Daniel Muñoz, Jhon Lucumí, Davinson Sánchez, Johan Mojica; Jefferson Lerma, Gustavo Puerta; Luis Díaz, James Rodriguez, Jhon Arias; Luis Suárez.Head coach: Nestor Lorenzo.
Jordan’s projected lineup (5-3-2): Yazeed Abu Laila; Elsan Haddad, Saed Al Rosan, Yazan Al-Arab, Mohammad Abualnadi, Mohannad Abu Taha; Nizar Al-Rashdan, Noor Al-Rawabdeh, Mahmoud Al-Mardi; Mousa Al-Tamari, Ali Olwan.Head coach: Jamal Sellami.