Colombia face Uzbekistan to open their journey in Group K of the 2026 World Cup. However, veteran goalkeeper David Ospina is not taking part in the action at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Ospina’s absence was expected, but it became official when Colombia and Uzbekistan’s confirmed lineups were released.
Instead, it will be Camilo Vargas who starts in goal for Colombia against Uzbekistan. Ospina’s backup role isn’t too surprising considering his last official game with the national team was back in 2022. Since, Ospina only started in a couple of international friendlies. Instead, Colombia have mostly utilized Vargas and Alvaro Montero.
As La Seleccion Colombia make their long-awaited debut at the 2026 World Cup against an opponent they know little about, Nestor Lorenzo has given Vargas the nod. Vargas was Colombia’s starting goalkeeper in the team’s final friendlies before the tournament, so all signs pointed to him being the No. 1 choice at the World Cup as well. For the time being, at least, Vargas remains atop Colombia’s goalkeeper hierarchy.
Who is Colombia’s second option in net?
Whether Ospina is the second choice or Alvaro Montero sits above him in Lorenzo’s hierarchy remains to be seen. Similar to Ospina, Montero has not played in an official match for Colombia in quite some time. His last competitive appearance for Los Cafeteros came in 2023. While that is more recent than Ospina’s last official cap, it may still not be recent enough.
Ospina (left), Montero (middle), and Vargas (right).
It appears Montero lost his place to Vargas following his performance in Colombia’s 3-1 friendly loss to France during the March international window. Since then, Vargas has been the starter, while Ospina logged limited minutes in a pre-World Cup friendly.
Perhaps the fact that Lorenzo brought on Ospina instead of Montero suggests that Ospina currently holds the backup role. However, anything can happen at the 2026 World Cup, and Lorenzo has yet to reveal his hand on this matter.
Colombia GK’s ages
- David Ospina: 37 years old (born in 1988)
- Camilo Vargas: 37 years old (born in 1989)
- Alvaro Montero: 31 years old (born in 1995)
Colombia need Vargas to stay sharp
In many ways, Colombia would rather not find out who the second option is. That’s because a change in goal would likely come hand in hand with either a poor performance from Vargas or an injury. There is another scenario in which Colombia rotate their goalkeepers in the final group-stage match if they have already clinched first place in Group K.
However, that would require them to defeat both Uzbekistan and DR Congo, while Portugal fail to beat Uzbekistan on Matchday 2. It feels as though too many pieces would need to fall into place for that to happen. Even if Colombia were guaranteed to finish first, they might still prefer to stick with Vargas.
After all, no goalkeeper wants to miss a World Cup match, regardless of what is at stake. Once a player’s fate is no longer in their own hands, anything can happen. In a position where only one player is used, that is simply too great a risk to take.
