MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Colombia wrapped up the World Cup’s opening group stage as the Group K champion Saturday night, playing to a scoreless tie against Portugal at the stadium in Miami Gardens.
Neither team needed the result to advance — both had already punched their tickets to the knockout round before kickoff. What remained to be determined was who they would face next.
As Group K winner, Colombia will now take on Ghana, which fell 2-1 to Croatia earlier in the day. Portugal, entering this expanded 48-team tournament as one of the favorites, will meet Croatia as the group’s runner-up.
Despite the scoreless final, both sides brought energy to the pitch. Bruno Fernandez nearly put Portugal on the board in the first half, but was stopped by goalkeeper Camilo Vargas. Portugal’s Diogo Costa finished with six saves — more than he recorded across the team’s previous two matches combined. Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez thought he had broken the deadlock with a header at the back post just one minute into stoppage time, but an offside ruling wiped the goal off the board.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side, still chasing its first-ever World Cup championship, navigated a bumpy group stage to reach the knockout round. The team opened with a surprising 1-1 draw against Congo, drawing criticism of Ronaldo for going scoreless. He responded in the next match by netting two goals in a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan, becoming the first player in history to score in six different World Cups.
Colombia, which had failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, bounced back in style — opening this tournament with a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan before edging Congo 1-0.
Saturday’s match was played at the home stadium of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and drew a sellout crowd of 64,478. Among those in attendance were former Colombia soccer legend Carlos Valderrama, FIFA President Gianni Infantino — who watched from a suite alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — NFL quarterback Jameis Winston, NBA player Jimmy Butler, actor Matt Damon, and former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson.
For fans who couldn’t get tickets to the high-demand game, watch parties were held throughout South Florida, including one drawing thousands of attendees at the home arena of the NHL’s Florida Panthers.
