FIFA International Friendly | Saturday, 7 June 2026 Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California | Attendance: 28,831 | Referee: Jesús Rafael López Valle
Jhon Arias scored both goals. James Rodriguez set up both goals. Colombia won 2-0. Everything about that sounds comfortable.
It was not quite. Not for the first 40 minutes, anyway.
Jordan came to San Diego with a plan. Sit deep, stay compact, make Colombia play around them and hit on the counter. For the opening half hour it worked. Colombia had the ball — 63% across the game — but could not find a way through. Jordan’s five-man defensive block absorbed everything and the atmosphere inside Snapdragon Stadium was getting nervous.
Then James Rodriguez slipped a brilliant through ball into the path of Arias in the 41st minute. One touch to control. Slotted inside the far post. 1-0. Colombia exhaled. The crowd exhaled. The first half ended with the lead intact.
The second goal was better. Néstor Lorenzo threw on a wave of substitutes at half-time — Santiago Arias among them, replacing Daniel Muñoz. In the 55th minute Colombia won the ball back high up the pitch. James Rodriguez picked out Santiago Arias down the right. The cross was perfect. Jhon Arias arrived at the back post and headed it home. Arias to Arias. The connection the whole country will talk about before the tournament.
Jordan’s discipline held for most of the match but fell apart right at the end. Amer Jamous was shown a straight red card in the 90th minute for a reckless challenge on Jorge Carrascal. Frustration finally boiling over. Too late to matter but it said something about the pressure Jordan had been under for the full 90 minutes.
Colombia face Uzbekistan in their World Cup opener on June 17 at the Azteca in Mexico City. Then Congo on June 23 in Guadalajara. Then Portugal in Miami on June 27. That last one is the group decider. If Colombia go into it having won the first two — and they are favourites for both — the Portugal game becomes the real measure of where this team actually stands.
James Rodriguez at 34. Still doing things nobody else can do. That through ball for the first goal had eyes. He read the space before Arias had even started his run. Watching him operate when his body lets him is still one of the great pleasures in South American football. The question going into the tournament — as it has been for two years — is how many minutes he can sustain at this level.
Jhon Arias has been one of the best players in Brazilian football for three seasons. Fluminense fans adore him. The Colombia supporters at Snapdragon gave him a proper reception after the second goal. A brace in the final warm-up before the World Cup. Timing is everything.
Jordan are making their World Cup debut. That cannot be said enough. The Nashama — The Brave Ones — qualified for the first time in their history and they are in a brutal group: Argentina, Algeria and Austria. Their warm-ups have not gone well — they lost 2-0 to Canada before this, and Sunday’s defeat makes it two from two without a goal. But nobody expected them to be beating Colombia in San Diego. The experience is what matters. Getting to know the level. Playing against a World Cup-calibre squad and seeing how the gap feels.
Hussein Ammouta’s side kept it 0-0 for 40 minutes. That is not nothing.
For live World Cup coverage from day one, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full groups, squads and fixtures at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Colombia 2-0 Jordan FIFA International Friendly | Saturday, 7 June 2026 Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California | Attendance: 28,831 | Referee: Jesús Rafael López Valle
Goals: Jhon Arias 41′ (assist: James Rodríguez), Jhon Arias 55′ (assist: Santiago Arias cross) Red Card: Amer Jamous 90′ (Jordan)
Colombia (4-2-3-1): Vargas; Mojica, Lucumí, Sánchez, Muñoz (S. Arias HT); Lerma, Puerta (Ríos HT); Díaz (Campaz HT), Rodríguez, Arias; Suárez (C. Hernández HT)
Jordan (5-4-1): Abu Laila; Hadad, Nasib, Al Arab, Obaid, Abu Taha; Al-Taamari, Al Rashdan, Al Rawabdeh, Odeh; Jamous
Stats: Possession COL 63.5% — JOR 36.5% | Shots on Goal 5-2 | Attempts 14-10 | Corners 3-1 | Saves 2-2 | Yellow Cards 0-1 | Half-time 1-0
