Revealed On 28 Jun 2026
Colombia and Portugal performed out a breathless 0-0 draw to a wall of sound at Miami Stadium, with each groups advancing to the final 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the highest two in Group Okay.
The Colombians will rue their profligacy in entrance of aim on Saturday, however take encouragement from dominating high quality European opposition for giant durations as they head off to Kansas Metropolis as group winners to tackle Ghana on Friday.
Advisable Tales
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Portugal, who wanted to win to prime the group, go north to Toronto to play Croatia on Thursday, understanding they haven’t fairly but discovered a strategy to mix all of the expertise of their squad into an efficient staff.
The match began to a cacophony of noise from the massed ranks of yellow-shirted South People, and the decibel ranges went up a notch when striker Jhon Cordoba headed the ball over the bar within the first minute.
Jhon Arias brought on Portugal issues each time he ran at them, and he set Cordoba free within the seventeenth minute, the large goal man unleashing a rocket of a shot that keeper Diogo Costa did effectively to cease.
After a stunning flowing transfer 5 minutes later, winger Arias took the shot himself and screwed the ball in the direction of the far nook of the online, just for Ruben Neves to reach simply in time to flick it off the road.
Colombia struggled to clear their traces cleanly generally, nevertheless, and it was this frailty that allowed Portugal their finest probabilities in the direction of the tip of the primary half.
Bruno Fernandes discovered himself free in entrance of aim within the thirty ninth minute, with his shot bringing a nice point-blank save out of Camilo Vargas within the Colombia aim.
Three minutes earlier than half-time, Joao Felix cleverly chested the ball over a defender and flashed an acrobatic volley over the bar.
Colombia pressed ahead, searching for the aim their dominance deserved, and each Gustavo Puerta and playmaker James Rodriguez troubled the goalkeeper with photographs earlier than the break.
Portugal attacked extra after the break, but it surely was Colombia who continued to carve out one of the best probabilities, with Arias organising substitute Richard Rios for a shot that went large.
Arias curled a shot at aim, which was effectively saved by Costa, and Puerta drilled one other likelihood large simply earlier than the hydration break.
A Rodriguez volley was deflected away from its goal within the 73rd minute, simply earlier than he and Arias had been substituted, however Colombia continued to tear ahead at each alternative.
Davinson Sanchez thought he had scored the winner with a far-post header a minute from time, but it surely was referred to as again for a really tight offside after a VAR examine.
Rafael Leao went near successful it for Portugal in stoppage time with a shot that flashed throughout aim, earlier than the referee lastly referred to as time on the entertaining match, performed out in entrance of a crowd of 64,478 sweltering within the Miami night warmth.
Portugal’s totem Cristiano Ronaldo, booed each time he touched the ball and starved of service, had barely a sniff of an opportunity, his one shot heading in the right direction a long-range free kick that went straight to the goalkeeper.
Wissa sends DR Congo into last-32 conflict with England
Within the group’s different sport, Yoane Wissa scored twice because the Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and certified for the final 32 of the World Cup for the primary time of their historical past on Saturday.
They may meet England after registering their first-ever World Cup win.
Eldor Shomurodov’s lob over Lionel Mpasi gave Uzbekistan an ideal begin in Atlanta.
However Newcastle striker Wissa levelled from the penalty spot, earlier than Fiston Mayele’s aim despatched the primarily Congolese crowd right into a frenzy.
Wissa rounded off a historic evening for the Africans with a nice strike in stoppage time for his third aim of the match.
Earlier on Saturday, Jude Bellingham dragged England by way of a cussed Panama take a look at, scoring and organising Harry Kane in a 2-0 win that despatched them into the World Cup spherical of 32 as Group L winners.
England had been made to work for greater than an hour in wet New Jersey, earlier than Bellingham broke the impasse, crossing for Kane to move in his eleventh World Cup aim, lifting him above Gary Lineker as England’s all-time main scorer on the match.
In the meantime, Nikola Vlasic headed in Luka Modric’s 83rd-minute nook to elevate Croatia to a 2-1 victory over Ghana on Saturday and a second-place end in World Cup Group L.
Vlasic’s good end off the within of the left submit got here 10 minutes after Derrick Luckassen had pulled Ghana degree on his worldwide debut, with half the time in between spent on a VAR overview figuring out whether or not he was onside.
Petar Sucic scored early for Croatia, who wanted solely a draw to succeed in the final 32. Claiming the second-place spot assured the 2022 third-place finishers a gathering with Portugal, the second-placed staff in Group Okay, on Thursday in Toronto.
