Jhon Lucumí on Colombia's World Cup Exit: It Wasn't a Catastrophe or a Success, It Was Somewhere in Between

Some players prefer to look the other way when things don't go as planned. Jhon Lucumí isn't one of them. The Colombia national team defender, who arrived at the 2026 World Cup as one of the most solid pieces of the Tricolor backline and whose strong form earned him a move from Bologna to Juventus, sat down in front of the microphones at Caracol Radio and held nothing back about what the tournament left behind.

Colombia was eliminated from the World Cup, and the feeling, as the center back himself admits, is bittersweet. Neither a catastrophe nor a full success. Something in between that Lucumí finds hard to explain without it sounding like an excuse.

"At the group level, saying it was positive might sound like we're mediocre or that we're settling for what happened, but that's not it. It was positive and at the same time it wasn't, because the goal wasn't just to get that far," explained the center back, making clear that the team never felt inferior to any opponent in the competition.

What people were feeling, we were feeling too, which was thinking we were capable of a lot more.Jhon Lucumí

Self-Criticism at the Personal Level Too

Lucumí didn't spare himself from his own analysis. He spoke of ups and downs in his individual performance during the national team process, something he acknowledges as part of a necessary learning curve before reaching the World Cup.

"It wasn't a consistent performance, I had good outings and then not-so-good ones. There were mistakes that kept me from establishing myself, but I also understood it was all part of the work," said the defender, who noted that playing for the Colombia national team carries a different weight than playing for a club, no matter how big a role you have in Europe.

On the elimination against Switzerland, the center back was especially clear. In his view, there was some underestimating of the opponent from the outside, something that shouldn't happen in today's game. "It happens a lot that because of the name we think it might be something easier or simpler. In terms of the sport now, everything is a lot more even," he explained, recalling that the Swiss have years of solid work behind them and that their previous exits in past tournaments came down more to fine margins, like penalty shootouts, than a lack of quality.

Eyes on the Copa América

With the World Cup now behind him, Lucumí wasted no time putting the next target on the table: the Copa América. He recalled that Colombia reached the final in the most recent edition of the tournament and that the recent matchups against Brazil and Argentina show the Tricolor can go toe to toe with South America's top sides.

"We've given Brazil and Argentina very competitive games. In the last Copa América we were able to reach the final, so why can't we win it?" the defender asked, making clear this isn't just wishful thinking but the product of daily work.

"For me, we're getting closer and closer to winning a title. I'm not saying there's nothing to fix or improve, because there is, but I think we're on a very good path," Lucumí closed, with the confidence of someone who feels that the process, beyond the World Cup stumble, is still building toward something big.