Colombia absolutely battered Venezuela 3-6 in the last round of World Cup qualifying, and with Bolivia pulling off a dramatic 1-0 win at home against Brazil, Venezuela won’t play in the World Cup in 2026.
For Everton fans, though, three players featured in the game are incredibly familiar. Yerry Mina and James Rodriguez started for the Colombians, while Salomon Rondon led the Venezuelan front line.
James Rodriguez was by far the most successful of the three when it came to his performances for the Toffees. He had 15 goal contributions in 26 matches according to transfermarkt.com. Yerry Mina played close to 100 matches for Everton, and although his individual performances weren’t terrible, his time at the club was tainted by the rest of the team. Salomon Rondon had by far the worst time at the club. He played in 31 matches, but only scored three goals.
Ironically, Rondon has been the player with the most success out of those three after their times at Goodison Park concluded. Rondon won the 2023-24 Concacaf Champions Cup and started against Real Madrid in the FIFA Intercontinetal Cup final while he was at Pachuca.
His scorching run of form with the Mexican side earned him a move back to La Liga with Real Oviedo, and he thoroughly deserved it.
James Rodriguez is currently playing in Mexico, and Mina is in Colombia. Things didn’t get better for Mina, and Rodriguez was seen as a bust by a lot of fans, but he’s been good for Club Leon, so he earned a call-up to the national team.
While those three players never contributed to any long-term success, it’s good to see them still kicking about after their Everton days.