Colombia 0-0 Portugal – report, result, goals as the Selecao sit second in the division…
Camilo Vargas turned away Selecao player Bruno Fernandes from close range and Diogo Costa followed suit to deny Jhon Arias as Cristiano Ronaldo’s side finished the group stage with five points, two behind Colombia.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made it six World Cup appearances with two goals in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday, but team-mate Joao Felix is looking forward to Portugal scoring in Miami, shooting and passing from both sides.
The defender, Davinson Sanchez, headed the ball long after it was ruled out for offside for Colombia, who were tied 0-0 in the final for the first time in their history.
Analysis of Colombia vs Portugal: Ronaldo’s role
Ronaldo’s first goals in this program were a small talk for those who criticized the way he played when Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo.
One of Ronaldo’s teammates at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, accused Roberto Martinez’s players of not doing enough to replace Ronaldo’s unwillingness to play against Colombia.
“He’s not really connected to the club,” Rooney told BBC Sport, analyzing Portugal’s tactics. “He’s not that defensive.
“He doesn’t get along with his teammates, if he doesn’t do that job of protecting the players around him, they have to do that job.
“[Lionel] Messi is not coming back though [his] In Argentina [teammates] run back. Portugal can’t afford it [Ronaldo’s teammates] which does not do that.
“[Ronaldo’s] one of the best footballers ever and, if you can create opportunities for him, he will usually score them.”
World Cup 2026: Team Portugal vs Colombia
Portugal starting XI: Diogo Costa, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Joao Cancelo, Nuno Mendes, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto
Portugal instead: Jose Sa, Rui Silva, Nelson Semedo, Tomas Araujo, Diogo Dalot, Goncalo Inacio, Samu Costa, Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Neves, Goncalo Ramos, Francisco Trincao, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Guedes, Francisco Conceicao
World Cup 2026: Team Colombia vs Portugal
Colombia starting XI: Camilo Vargas, Jhon Lucumi, Santiago Arias, Gustavo Puerta, Deiver Machado, Davinson Sanchez, James Rodriguez, Jhon Arias, Jefferson Lerma, Luis Diaz, Jhon Cordoba
Colombia instead: David Ospina, Alvaro Montero, Daniel Munoz, Yerry Mina, Johan Mojica, Willer Ditta, Kevin Castano, Richard Rios, Jorge Carrascal, Juan Portilla, Juan Quintero, Cucho Hernandez, Jaminton Campaz, Luis Suarez, Andres Gomez
World Cup 2026: Portugal vs Colombia stats
- Only Argentina (31) scored more goals than Colombia (28) in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. They scored more goals (7) than any other nation
- Lionel Messi (8) is the only player to have scored more goals than Luis Diaz (7) from Colombia in South American qualifiers.
- James Rodriguez led the assists charts with seven, three more than any other player
- Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo is in his first World Cup as a coach but he is one of the three managers in the 2026 tournament who have played in the finals of the tournament, as he played for Argentina in an exhibition match against West Germany in 1990.
- Lorenzo guided Colombia to their first Copa America final in 23 years in 2024, losing after extra time to Argentina.
- Since Portugal’s best-ever World Cup finish – third in 1966 – their only semi-final appearance was in 2006, coming out against France before losing in the third-place qualifier to hosts Germany.
- Portugal is one of the five European teams that have appeared in every World Cup
since 2002, alongside England, France, Germany and Spain - They have reached the knockout stage in four of their last five World Cups and have scored 10 points in their last 11 finals appearances, the exception being their 1-0 quarter-final loss to Morocco in 2022.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have scored in six World Cups and the only player – along with Messi – to feature in six.
- Selecao coach Roberto Martínez is in his third World Cup as head coach, having led Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018 and a group stage exit in 2022.
- Martinez is the third non-Portuguese coach to lead a team to the finals, following Brazilians Otto Gloria and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
