The Colombia Women’s World Cup 2023 squad are into the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The lowest-ranked nation left in the tournament, the South American side has been one of many success stories in the World Cup so far, but none have tread new waters as much as Nelson Abadia’s side.
While an opening game win over South Korea wasn’t entirely unexpected, they came to the attention of the world with a dramatic late win over Germany a few days later. Their teenage superstar, Linda Caicedo, showed what she can do on the biggest stage with a brilliant goal to help down the Euro 2022 finalists, and even a final game defeat to Morocco couldn’t stop them from sealing top spot.
A narrow 1-0 win over Jamaica has sealed a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time where they will take on England, and there is no reason to underestimate their ability to cause another shock this weekend. They’ve been solid at the back, with centre-back Jorelyn Carabali particularly impressive, while up front they have been one of the most unpredictable sides in the tournament.
Beyond Caicedo, captain Catalina Usme has been the focus point of the attack, while Levante’s Mayra Ramirez has been a physical presence, either playing centrally or drifting to the right and interchanging with Usme. Behind them, Atletico Madrid’s Leicy Santos has been the creative spark, and they’ve shown more than enough that they can cause issues for an England side still not fully in top gear when the sides clash in Sydney on Saturday.
Whatever happens, they’ve been a breath of fresh air to the tournament and will go home proud, whether it be on Saturday or beyond.
Colombia Women's World Cup 2023 squad
(Image credit: Adidas)
Colombia Women's World Cup 2023 squad
GK: Catalina Perez (SE Kindermann-Avai)
GK: Sandra Sepulveda (Independiente Medellin)
GK: Natalia Giraldo (America de Cali)
DF: Ana Maria Guzman (Deportivo Pereira)
DF: Angela Baron (Atletico Nacional)
DF: Carolina Arias (Junior FC)
DF: Daniela Arias (America de Cali)
DF: Daniela Caracas (Espanyol)
DF: Jorelyn Carabali (Atletico Mineiro)
DF: Monica Ramos (Gremio)
MF: Daniela Montoya (Atletico Nacional)
MF: Diana Ospina (America de Cali)
MF: Lorena Bedoya (Real Brasilia)
MF: Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad)
MF: Marcela Restrepo (Dux Logrono)
MF: Maria Camila Reyes (Independiente Santa Fe)
MF: Lady Andrade (Real Brasilia)
MF: Leicy Santos (Atletico Madrid)
MF: Mayra Ramirez (Levante)
FW: Catalina Usme (America de Cali)
FW: Elexa Bahr (America de Cali)
FW: Ivonne Chacon (Valencia)
FW: Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid)
Colombia manager
66-year-old Nelson Abadia has been in charge of the Colombian women's side since 2017 – prior to that, he managed the America de Cali Women team. Abadia has had a number of roles across South America in coaching teams over the years, with his sole honour coming at 2019's Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
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Top scorers
Who has scored for Colombia?
Two goals
Linda Caicedo
Catalina Usme
One goal
Manuela Vanegas
How many players are Colombia allowed to take to the World Cup 2023?
The Colombia Women’s World Cup squad will be made up of 23 players. Despite requests from some countries to extend the squad sizes, as was done with Men’s World Cup in Qatar, they will be limited to a smaller squad of just 23.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
