End of a golden era: James Rodríguez says goodbye to the Colombia national team
Colombian football is losing its greatest magician: James Rodríguez has played his final match in the yellow shirt.
Details: James Rodríguez has announced his retirement from the Colombia national team at the age of 35. The captain departs as the country's record appearance holder with 131 games and 31 goals, its all-time assist leader, its second-highest scorer in history and its all-time leading marksman in World Cup qualifying.
The announcement, though expected after the 2026 World Cup, still lands like a thunderbolt in Bogotá. James leaves the stage as the most important Colombian footballer of his generation: the 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner whose volley against Uruguay became one of the tournament's immortal goals, the leader of the team that danced to the Copa América final in 2024, and the captain of the 2026 campaign that turned out to be his last dance. His international story began in 2011, when a 20-year-old from Banfield debuted for the senior side, and it ends 15 years later with a statistical portrait no Colombian may match for decades. At club level, James also turned a fresh page just days ago, returning to his homeland for the first time since leaving as a 16-year-old, signing with Atlético Nacional after spells at Minnesota United and León. Retirement from international football frees him to savor that homecoming, but for millions of Colombians the image that will endure is the number 10, captain's armband on, orchestrating the national dream one final time.
It's worth noting that only Radamel Falcao stands above James on Colombia's all-time scoring list, while no player in the country's history has more than his 131 caps.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
