Carlos Valderrama wants Colombia to keep Gustavo Puerta and the rest of the starting group intact for the June 27, 2026 match against Portugal. He said the team should carry the same rhythm into World Cup 2026 Group K and attack the game from the first minute.
Carlos Valderrama and Gustavo Puerta
Asked about changes in attack, Valderrama went straight against the idea of moving pieces around. “Yo soy del antiguo. Entonces, ¿por qué vamos a cambiar equipo si el equipo está ganando y está jugando bien?” he said, backing a familiar XI rather than chasing a reset before a major test.
He tied that view to the second match, where Colombia played very well. “Si jugamos como el segundo partido, mejor. El segundo partido jugamos muy bien. Entonces, hay que mantener ese ritmo,” he said. For readers tracking the lineup debate, the start built around Gustavo Puerta is part of the same stability argument: keep the structure, keep the tempo, and do not break what has been working.
Portugal in Group K
Valderrama also drew a hard line on the opponent. “Monstruo con monstruo. Ellos tienen monstruo, nosotros también tenemos,” he said about Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, then added that there was no need for fear. “No, miedo, no. No le vamos a tener miedo, le tenemos respeto, como siempre,” he said.
He pushed that idea further by calling Ronaldo unfinished as a player. “Cristiano todavía no está acabado. Al contrario, ese es un ejemplo,” Valderrama said. That leaves Colombia with a clear task: meet a favorite with the same collective level it showed in its second match, not with a reshuffled lineup built around caution.
Colombia before June
Valderrama’s message is simple enough for the players and hard enough for the plan. He said Colombia is also one of the favorites, then closed with his own prediction: “Vamos a ganar.”
He added that he follows the national team as a fan and watches it “Siempre con la camiseta,” saying, “Yo soy un aficionado más. Ya me acostumbré a eso, ya después de tanto tiempo. Vengo a hacer fuerza, pero siempre positivo, que la selección va a ganar y va a jugar bien.” He also sent Luis Díaz a direct message: “Que siga jugando así, que lo estamos viendo.”
The immediate question now is whether Colombia keeps the same starters on June 27 and trusts the rhythm Valderrama wants preserved, or whether the lineup talk starts again once the match against Portugal arrives.
