Richard Ríos

Richard Ríos is a midfielder in Colombia's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, named on 25 May 2026 and listed in the midfield group alongside James Rodríguez, Jefferson Lerma, Juan Fernando Quintero, Jhon Arias and Kevin Castaño. The Benfica midfielder is 26 at kick-off and brings 30 senior Colombia caps and two international goals into what would be his first World Cup, having become a regular in the Colombia midfield since his debut in 2023.

Colombia are in Group K with Portugal, DR Congo and Uzbekistan, opening against Uzbekistan at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on 17 June. Néstor Lorenzo's side qualified by finishing third in CONMEBOL qualifying on 4 September 2025, and Ríos moved to Benfica from Palmeiras in July 2025.

Ríos is a box-to-box central midfielder with excellent close control who comes deep to receive the ball and carries it forward through the centre. He is a strong dribbler under pressure and one of the players Colombia build their play through.

That ball-carrying makes him central to Colombia's build-up and transitions, linking defence to attack as he drives through midfield. In Lorenzo's 4-3-3, Ríos offers a midfielder who can both progress the ball and cover ground box to box.

Ríos contributes to a Colombia card as the engine of midfield: a box-to-box carrier who drives the ball forward and links the play. Colombia are a third-tier side, £17m within the game's £200m card budget, before a Group K opener.

His own returns are modest for a deeper midfielder, so his card value follows Colombia's results more than personal goals, but his carrying is part of why the side creates.