Colombia have participated in six World Cups and won their first international title as the hosts of the 2001 Copa America.
They also finished runners-up at the 1975 Copa America and have appeared in the semi-finals six times.
Colombia played their first international game on February 17, 1926 - a 4-0 home win over Costa Rica.
Their first major tournament was the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games, where they won the bronze medal with two wins and three losses. They also finished fourth at the 1938 Bolivarian Games in Bogota.
Colombia didn't play from 1938 to 1945 but returned to action in the 1945 South American Championships, where they finished fifth.
After third place finishes in 2016 and 2021, Colombia were runners-up at the 2024 Copa America, losing in extra-time to Lionel Messi's Argentina.
During the first two World Cups in 1930 and 1934, Colombia were not a FIFA member and thus not eligible to participate. They had secured membership by 1938, but joined the North America/South America boycott of the 1938 World Cup in France.
After missing out on the 1958 World Cup, Colombia finally qualified for and participated in the 1962 World Cup in Chile. They went home without a win after losing to Uruguay 2-1 and Yugoslavia 5-0, while drawing 4-4 against the USSR.
Colombia had five different goalscorers in the tournament.
Over the next 28 years, the closest Colombia came to qualifying for a World Cup was in 1974 when they lost out on goal difference to Uruguay.
In 1986, they made the final four of the CONMEBOL play-off for the final spot but lost to Paraguay in a two-legged play-off.
Colombia, Harold Lozano, Paul Gascoigne
In the round of 16, Colombia faced Cameroon. The game was goalless after 90 minutes but Cameroon scored in the 106th and 108th minutes before Redin got one back in the 115th.
However, Colombia couldn't find an equaliser and went home. Despite this defeat, it was still their best-ever World Cup finish to that point.
The 1994 World Cup in the United States ended in tragedy off the field. Colombia lost to Romania 3-1 with Adolfo Valencia scoring the lone goal. In the second game, Valencia scored again in a 2-1 loss to USA.
However, the story of the match was defender Andres Escobar scoring an own goal in the 35th minute to give the hosts the lead. Less than two weeks later, Escobar was murdered in Medellin, Colombia, after being shot six times outside a nightclub.
Colombia won their final group game at the 1994 World Cup courtesy of a 2-0 success against Switzerland. However, the win was overshadowed by their elimination from the tournament and the murder of Escobar five days after the team had left the US.
His funeral was attended by more than 120,000 people and a statue of Escobar now stands in Medellin.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, Colombia were eliminated in the group stage. They lost to Romania 1-0, beat Tunisia 1-0 and lost to England 2-0.
Colombia missed out on the next three World Cups. In 2002, they finished sixth in qualifying, missing a spot in the intercontinental play-off on goal difference.
Colombia, Republic of Ireland,
In 2006, they also finished in sixth place, one point behind Uruguay despite having a better goal difference.
They again finished one point behind Uruguay in 2010 qualifying to miss out on the World Cup in South Africa.
Colombia returned to the World Cup in 2014 after finishing second in CONMEBOL qualifying, just two points behind top-of-the-table Argentina.
In Brazil, the Colombians opened the group stages with a 3-0 win over Greece as Pablo Armero, Teofilo Gutierrez and James Rodriguez scored.
Colombia, James Rodriguez, 2014 World Cup
Rodriguez scored twice in a 2-0 win over Uruguay in the round of 16 to give Colombia their first-ever quarter-final appearance. Rodriguez found the net for a fifth straight game in the quarter-finals, but Colombia lost to Brazil 2-1.
The 2018 qualifying process was a close one for Colombia as they finished fourth and grabbed the final place by one point from Peru and Chile.
In the opening group game of the 2018 World Cup, they lost to Japan 3-1 after Carlos Sanchez received a red card in the third minute. They bounced back to thump Poland 3-0 with goals from Yerry Mina, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado.
Rodriguez missed the round of 16 game against England, and Colombia fell behind to a Harry Kane penalty in the 57th minute.
Mina headed home a Cuadrado cross in the 93rd minute to level the game and neither team scored in extra time. Colombia led 3-2 after three rounds of penalty kicks in the shootout, but Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca both missed.
Eric Dier then scored to send England into the quarter-finals; the first penalty shootout won by England at a World Cup.
Colombia failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Colombia had never finished better than fifth at the South American Championships until 1975.
At the 1975 Copa America, which was played throughout the year, Colombia won their group and reached the best-of-three final against Peru.
They won the first game at home 1-0 before losing in Peru 2-0. The final match was played in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and Peru won 1-0, condemning Colombia to the runners-up spot.
In 1987, they lost in extra time to Chile in the semi-finals before beating Argentina 2-1 in the third-place game. Carlos Valderrama was named the tournament's best player.
In 1993, they lost in the semi-finals to Argentina in a sudden-death penalty shootout before beating Ecuador 1-0 in the third-place game. Two years later, they fell to Uruguay 2-0 in the semi-finals and beat the United States 4-1 in the third-place match.
They hit the jackpot in 2001, when they hosted the Copa America for the first time. They swept through the group stage without conceding a goal before beating Peru 2-0 in the quarter-finals and Honduras 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Colombia finished fourth in the 2004 Copa America and third at the Copa America Centenario in 2016. They beat USA 1-0 in the third-place game after falling to Chile 2-0 in the semi-finals.
A goal deep into extra-time by Lautaro Martinez gave Argentina a 1-0 win over Colombia and a record-breaking 16th Copa America title in July 2024.
Argentina lost a tearful Lionel Messi to injury midway through the second half of a game delayed by more than an hour by crowd issues, but Martinez came off the bench in the extra half hour to ensure his captain would lift a third successive major trophy..
The match kicked off an hour and 20 minutes late after security closed gates at the Hard Rock Stadium, one of the sites for the 2026 World Cup, after fans attempted to enter the stadium without tickets.
Colombia's 1-0 semi-final win over Uruguay was marred by ugly scenes between fans and players.
A skirmish behind the Uruguay bench saw a group of supporters clash with Colombia fans, who made up the vast majority of the crowd, with drinks thrown.
Uruguay's forward Darwin Nunez was one of a number of players who climbed into the seating area at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte in an attempt to protect their families but that escalated into personal confrontations.
Police restored order after more than 10 minutes with a group of Uruguayan fans and team staff remaining on the field.
A 39th-minute goal from Jefferson Lerma was the difference between the sides, with Colombia playing a man short after Daniel Munoz was sent off just before the break.
The biggest rivalry for Colombia is with neighbours Venezuela, although the match-up was very one-sided until the 2000s.
Colombia drew 2-2 in Venezuela in 2001 and coach Luis Garcia was immediately fired. In qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, the Colombians lost 1-0 at home to Venezuela.
Colombia have 27 wins overall against Venezuela with 17 draws and seven losses.
The most capped player in the nation's history is goalkeeper David Ospina with over 125 caps, closely followed by Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez with over 100.
Legendary midfielder Carlos Valderrama with 111 appearances between 1985 and 1998.
The free-kick specialist gained international popularity for his unique hairstyle - a blonde afro.
Ospina is the most capped goalkeeper, with Oscar Cordoba having played 73 games from 1993 to 2006. Rene Higuita made 68 appearances from 1987 to 1999.
Radamel Falcao, Colombia, 2013
Faustino Asprilla (20) and Freddy Rincon (17) round out the top five goalscorers for Colombia.
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez has been dealt a five-game international ban for fighting with opposition fans after Uruguay's Copa America semi-final against Colombia last month.
Rayo Vallecano have announced a sensational signing for their centenary season: Colombian star James Rodriguez has joined the Madrid-based club.
Argentina lifted the Copa America trophy for a record-breaking 16th time following Lautaro Martinez's goal deep into extra-time that earned them a 1-0 win over Colombia.
The Uruguay Football Association (AUF) has "strongly condemned" the clash between players and fans after the Copa America semi-final defeat to Colombia.
Watch as Liverpool and Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez throws punches at violent Colombia supporters to defend his family in Copa America brawl.
Crystal Palace Jefferson Lerma scored the only goal of the game as Colombia dumped Uruguay out of Copa America to setup a final with Argentina
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is in danger of receiving a lengthy ban for confronting fans after Uruguay's defeat to Colombia in the Copa America semi-finals.
