James Rodriguez Played Six MLS Games Before Colombia's World Cup Push
james rodriguez played only six league matches for Minnesota United, and injuries kept the 34-year-old from turning that brief stay into much more. He left early to join Colombia, with the 2026 World Cup driving the move from the start.
James Rodríguez and Minnesota United
Rodríguez started only two of those six matches and finished with two assists and zero goals. That line matches the reality of his spell in Minnesota: short, interrupted, and far from the impact he came to deliver.
He joined Minnesota United in February after saying his goal was the World Cup, not simply a season in MLS. In February, he also said, “They are the gasoline that drives me to do what I want and achieve what I have set out to do.”
His words fit the approach. “When you play for your country, it's a completely different feeling, something totally different,” Rodríguez said during his time with Minnesota United, and his early exit made that priority plain.
Colombia's World Cup plan
Néstor Lorenzo has made Rodríguez key to his game plan, and Colombia will need him with the tournament set to be cohosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Colombia opens Group K against Portugal in Miami, then plays Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Mexico.
The setup puts Rodríguez back in the same North American spotlight that once helped Carlos Valderrama. Valderrama played for Tampa Bay Mutiny in the early MLS years, won the league's first MVP award, and became a popular icon in the United States after the 1994 World Cup, when Colombia exited in the group stage despite being viewed as one of the favorites.
Jordan offered the last sign
Before joining Colombia, Rodríguez helped in a 2-0 win over Jordan in the team's last friendly before the World Cup. He supplied one assist and helped create the other goal, a cleaner attacking return than his Minnesota numbers showed.
That gap is the story now. Minnesota got six league matches, two starts, and a limited return; Colombia gets a 34-year-old creator whose next test is whether those brief MLS minutes were enough preparation for a leading role in Group K.
