The Colombia national football team will start a new project in the coming weeks to prepare for the 2030 FIFA World Cup in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, where the goal is to surpass what was achieved in Russia 2018 and North America 2026, where the team did not go beyond the quarterfinals. To do this, coach Néstor Lorenzo will start working in September, but with doubts about a player who was injured in the last hours, which raised alarms because he was one of the called to be part of the generational change of the team and is known by the Argentine coach. Meanwhile, the rest of the squad is focusing on helping those affected by the earthquake of August 10 in the Pacific and the Coffee Region, with its epicenter in Chocó, which left over 200 dead and hundreds of families damaged. ## Injured in the Colombia national team Colombian defender Álvaro Angulo left the pitch on a stretcher in the Pumas vs. Columbus Crew match, in the third round of the 2026 Leagues Cup, a tournament that pits teams from Mexico and the United States. The left-back had to be replaced in the 90th minute, when the score was 1-1. The match was played at the ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus and the Colombian defender was a starter. Before leaving the field, he scored the equalizing goal for the Mexicans near the end of the first half. At the moment, there has been no official diagnosis or recovery time reported. The first versions indicate a physical discomfort and the club is waiting for medical studies to determine the extent of the injury, as he was seen with many signs of pain. The 1-1 remained during the 90 minutes and Columbus Crew won in the penalty shootout by 3-2, after Pumas failed three shots. With this result, the Mexican team ended its participation in the tournament without a win and will focus on the Apertura Tournament of the Liga MX. On the other hand, Angulo has experience in the Colombia national team because he has already played four matches, three friendly matches and the other in eliminatories against Venezuela, in the 6-3 win in Maturín, but he did not make it to the 2026 World Cup because he lost his place with Déiver Machado. ## Tricolor friendlies The Colombia national team added a new friendly match in its preparation for the 2030 World Cup cycle: it will face Peru on October 6 in Miami, United States, as confirmed by the Peruvian Football Federation, pending ratification by the FCF. The match will be played in the September and October FIFA window and aims to adjust the sports projects of both teams before the start of the next South American eliminations, whose format and dates are to be defined by Conmebol, as well as their participants, because Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay will host commitments of the World Cup. That match will be the second confirmed commitment for Colombia in that period. Before, the Tricolor will face Mexico on September 26, 2026 in Baltimore, in a duel marked by the debut of Rafa Márquez as coach of the Mexican team, replacing Javier Aguirre, who took that squad to the quarterfinals. With those two friendlies secured, the Colombian Football Federation is working on the confirmation of two more matches to complete the international agenda of that FIFA window, as a maximum of four matches can be played,