Edwin Cardona learned he was cut from the 2018 World Cup while driving

A moving car, an unknown number that keeps calling, and news that changes the course of a dream. That's how raw the moment was that Edwin Cardona brought back up, this time on the Juanpis Live Show, recalling how he found out he'd been left off the final squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Colombian midfielder said that days earlier he'd had a meeting in Argentina, where he was playing for Boca Juniors at the time, and that he'd walked away from it convinced his spot at the World Cup was locked in. He was so sure of it that the club even gave him a few days off to rest with his family before joining up with the Colombian national team.

Because when they give you their word, it's something else. I had a meeting before that in Argentina. A week earlier they'd even given me vacation time to spend with my family, because it was going to be a long stretch of being with the squad, and I was headed straight home.Edwin Cardona

That trip, which was supposed to be a relaxed one, ended up being one of the toughest moments of his career. Cardona said he got several calls from a number he didn't recognize, and when he finally answered, a woman on the other end was tasked with letting players know they hadn't made the cut. The news reached him right while he was driving.

I was driving, and while I was there in the car she told me: 'You're not going to be called up for the 2018 World Cup.'Edwin Cardona

At first he thought it was a joke, hard to believe anything else after walking out of that meeting with a completely different expectation. But confirmation came shortly after in a voice message, and there was no room left for doubt. Cardona said he let go of the wheel out of shock, and it was his wife, who was riding with him in the car, who had to grab it to keep things from getting worse.

Pékerman's decision

Cardona didn't say it was José Pékerman himself who made that call, but he made clear the decision to leave him out came from the coaching staff Pékerman led. The Colombian had been on the preliminary list of 35 players but didn't make the final 23 who traveled to Russia.

His absence came as a surprise since he'd been a key piece during qualifying, scoring important goals on the road to the World Cup. But things got complicated for him down the stretch: FIFA suspended him for five matches over a gesture he made during a friendly against South Korea in November 2017, and in that window other players, Juan Fernando Quintero among them, gained ground in Pékerman's plans.

This wasn't the first time Cardona had talked about this episode. He'd already brought it up back in 2024 and said that call nearly caused an accident. Colombia, with Pékerman on the bench, made it to the round of 16 in Russia and was eliminated on penalties by England, a tournament Cardona ended up watching from the outside.