W Gold Cup 2024: Colombia’s roster, absent players, group rivals and fixtures

With the qualification playoffs now complete, the line-up for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup is set. Starting this week, 12 countries will do battle to become the inaugural winners of the new tournament, whose opening edition is to be hosted by the United States.

Together with Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, Colombia will represent South America in the States, where teams will also have the opportunity to gear up for this summer’s Olympics in Paris. The Colombians, who travelled to the US with a 23-player roster whose chief star is Real Madrid’s Linda Caicedo, kick off their W Gold Cup campaign on Wednesday 21 February.

Who else is in Colombia’s W Gold Cup group?

Ángelo Marsiglia’s team have been drawn in Group B with Brazil, Panama and playoff qualifiers Puerto Rico, who booked their place at the W Gold Cup by beating Haiti 1-0 on Saturday. All games in the group are to be played at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, home to NWSL franchise the San Diego Wave.

The W Gold Cup’s round-robin phase is to be played between 20 and 28 February, with the top two teams in each group qualifying automatically for the quarter-finals. The two best third-placed finishers will also progress to the last eight, which is to be held on 2 and 3 March. The semi-finals will both be played on 6 March, before Snapdragon Stadium hosts the final four days later.

Colombia chasing podium finish at W Gold Cup - Usme

“Although the priority this year is the Olympics, the Gold Cup is also hugely important to us,” veteran Colombia forward Catalina Usme said before the team flew out. “We’ve got a roster with some young players who are knocking on the door, and this is a great opportunity for them to get a taste of the action and get used to our way of thinking. We’re not just going there to make up the numbers - this group is focused on winning. I want to make sure we return home as one of the top three finishers at the tournament.”

Who is in the Colombia roster?

Usme, Caicedo and Daniela Montoya are the major names in a Colombian roster that contains a number of the players that helped Las Cafeteras to their first ever Word Cup quarter-final in 2023. However, the South Americans will be missing key individuals at the Gold Cup, with Leicy Santos, Catalina Pérez and Mayra Ramírez all unavailable.

Santos and Pérez have both been forced to sit out the tournament through injury, while Chelsea refused to release Ramírez, who joined the Women’s Super League club in a then-world-record deal in January. (Ramírez’s $540,000 transfer has since been eclipsed by Bay FC’s $750,000 signing of Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF.)

Colombia roster for 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup:

Goalkeepers: Natalia Giraldo, Sandra Sepúlveda, Stefany Castaño

Defenders: Ángela Barón, Carolina Arias, Daniela Arias, Manuela Vanegas, Fabiana Yanten, Jorelyn Carabalí, Mónica Ramos.

Midfielders: Daniela Montoya, Liana Salazar, Ilana Izquierdo, Lorena Bedoya, Lady Andrade, Marcela Restrepo, María Camila Reyes.

Forwards: Catalina Usme, Diana Celis, Elexa Bahr, Ivonne Chacón, Manuela Pavi, Linda Caicedo.

Watch - The CONCACAF W Gold Cup kicks off:

How to watch Colombia at the W Gold Cup

Viewers in the US will be able to watch English-language coverage of Colombia’s W Gold Cup clashes - and all other games in the tournament - on CBS and Paramount+. Spanish speakers in the US and in Colombia will be able to tune in on ESPN. To buy tickets to W Gold Cup games, visit the CONCACAF website.