Eight years after pulling off an unforgettable comeback in Saint-Denis, Colombia once again meets France in an international friendly. Just like in 2018, the Tricolor will challenge one of the favorites to win the World Cup with only a few months to go before the tournament kicks off. This Sunday, the national team faces a decisive test at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.

Colombia heads into the matchup coming off its first loss of 2026. Although Jhon Arias opened the scoring against Croatia on Thursday, Néstor Lorenzo’s men couldn’t hold the lead and were ultimately beaten 2-1 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. France, meanwhile, defeated Brazil by the same scoreline in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Lorenzo’s last look before World Cup roster announcement

FIFA recently confirmed that national-team coaches must submit their final World Cup roster no later than May 30. Each country will take 26 players to the tournament, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

As a result, Sunday’s Colombia vs France showdown shapes up as perhaps the last major opportunity for Lorenzo to evaluate his options before locking in his final list. After this match, only the farewell game against Costa Rica remains - scheduled for May 29 in Bogotá - by which point nearly everything will already be decided.

Colombia and France meet again ahead of a World Cup

The most recent meeting between these two national teams came in March 2018, just months before Les Bleus won the World Cup in Russia. In that tournament tune-up, Colombia fell behind 2-0 but stormed back with goals from Luis Muriel, Radamel Falcao and Juanfer Quintero to claim a 3-2 victory at the Stade de France.

This weekend’s matchup in Maryland will be the sixth all-time between the two nations. So far, the French hold the lead in the all-time series, having won three of the teams’ five encounters. The other two were Colombian victories: 3-1 in 1993 and the aforementioned comeback in Saint-Denis.

Confirmed Colombia lineup vs France

Álvaro Montero; Daniel Muñoz, Davinson Sánchez, Juan David Cabal, Johan Mojica; Jefferson Lerma, Richard Ríos; Jhon Arias, James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz; Luis Suárez.

France vs Colombia: kickoff times, how to watch

Held as part of the “Road to 26″ series of international friendlies, France vs Colombia kicks off at Northwest Stadium today, Sunday, March 29, at 3:00 p.m. ET/12 noon PT. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the game on Telemundo and Universo.

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