James Rodriguez retires from Colombia duty

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

James Rodriguez has announced his retirement from international football after winning 131 caps for Colombia in a 15-year span.

James recently returned to his home country to sign for Atletico Nacional, following short-lived stints with Minnesota United and Club Leon.

He represented Colombia at a third edition of the World Cup this year, as Colombia impressively topped their group ahead of Portugal but lost on penalties to Switzerland in the round of 16.

In the Cafeteros’ last-16 defeat, James surpassed goalkeeper David Ospina as his nation’s all-time leading appearance-maker, but that was his final outing in the international game.

The 35-year-old wrote on social media on Tuesday: “The moment has arrived. Thank you for every match, every joy, every tear, and every dream shared.

“Defending the colours of the Colombia national team was one of the greatest honours of my life. Thank you, Colombia. Forever.”

Gracias por cada partido, cada alegría, cada lágrima y cada sueño compartido.

Defender los colores de la selección Colombia fue uno de los mayores honores de mi vida.

Gracias, Colombia. Para siempre.  pic.twitter.com/AlRxMgtFeI

— James Rodríguez (@jamesdrodriguez) September 15, 2026

The 2014 World Cup represented James’ breakout tournament, as he won the Golden Boot with six goals to earn a move from Monaco to Real Madrid.

At that point, only Ronaldo Nazario (eight in 2002) had scored more goals at a single World Cup this century, though Kylian Mbappe (eight in 2022, 10 in 2026), Lionel Messi (seven in 2022, eight in 2026), Erling Haaland (seven in 2026) and Jude Bellingham (seven in 2026) have subsequently bettered that achievement.  

Colombia’s best tournament performance with James in their ranks came at the 2024 Copa America, as they finished as runners-up to Argentina.

James registered six assists at that competition, tying the single-edition record alongside Brazil’s Alex in 2004.

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