Colombia 0-0 Portugal: Both sides cannot break the deadlock as Portugal finish as 2nd

Colombia secured top spot in Group K despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Portugal in an entertaining World Cup clash.

Match Report

Colombia secured top spot in Group K despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Portugal in an entertaining World Cup clash.

Both sides had plenty of chances, though Colombia thought they had won it in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, only for Davinson Sanchez to be flagged offside. 

It was a lively opening, with Jhon Arias getting caught under a header that he sent over the bar before Ruben Neves dragged wide at the other end in the opening four minutes.

Jhon Cordoba then shrugged off Bruno Fernandes to force Diogo Costa into a sharp save from the right of the box, while Arias was denied on the line by Neves from a similar position.

Cristiano Ronaldo sent a tame long-range free-kick down the middle at Camilo Vargas as Portugal initially struggled to find a clear opening in the first half an hour.

Fernandes quickly sorted out his feet to power an effort that was well smothered by Vargas, with Ronaldo's overhead kick blocked at close range on the rebound.

On the stretch, Joao Felix then volleyed over the bar, but it was Colombia who finished the half on top as Costa got down quickly to keep out James Rodriguez's low fizzer.

Colombia again stepped up the pressure after the break, with Costa needing to get two hands behind Jefferson Lerma's powerful long-range effort. Richard Rios, Arias and Gustavo Puerta all saw chances go begging in the second half as Colombia, with James pulling the strings from midfield, searched for an opener.

Luis Suarez blazed over the bar late on, but when Sanchez wheeled away in celebration in the 91st minute after heading in Juan Fernando Quintero's cross, the goal was disallowed for the tightest of offside calls.

His toe had just strayed past Rafael Leao, who could have snatched the win for Portugal, but from a tight angle on the left of the box, he dragged wide of the far post.

Colombia cannot make pressure tell

Colombia knew a draw would be enough to take them through as group winners, but given how they pushed in the closing stages, they will be disappointed not to have walked away with all three points.

Their two attempts in the opening two minutes were their earliest shots in a World Cup match in the 21st century. They had 12 first-half efforts in total, more than Portugal faced in either of their full first two group games.

But it was an entertaining first 45 minutes overall, with the combined 1.38 expected goals (xG) value at half-time the highest in the first half of any 2026 World Cup match that was 0-0 at the break.

Ronaldo had a largely quiet game, managing just three shots and 35 touches. But after his two-goal showing against Uzbekistan, he could not mark his 25th World Cup appearance with a goal.

James, meanwhile, became the first Colombian player to reach 11 appearances in the World Cup, and though he also finished without a goal involvement, he was unsurprisingly one of their brightest sparks. He created a joint-team-high five chances and played a game-high 43 passes in the final third.

With Colombia topping the group, they will face Ghana in the round of 32 on July 3, while Portugal will come up against Croatia, with a potential clash against Spain if they reach the last 16.

Line-ups

Colombia XI: C. Vargas, James, Arias, Córdoba, Lerma, Sanchez, Deiver Machado, Jhon Lucumí, Jhon Arias, Luis Díaz, Gustavo Puerta

Subs: Ospina, J. Quintero, Mojica, Mina, Álvaro Montero, Jorge Carrascal, Cucho Hernández, Luis Suárez, Jáminton Campaz, Daniel Muñoz, Juan Portilla, Willer Ditta, Richard Ríos, Kevin Castaño, Andrés Gómez

Portugal XI: Ronaldo, Cancelo, Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Diogo Costa, Felix, Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, Renato Veiga

Subs: Rui Silva, Semedo, Jose Sa, Guedes, Bernardo Silva, Dalot, Francisco Trincão, Leao, Matheus Nunes, Francisco Conceição, Gonçalo Ramos, Samú Costa, Tomás Araújo, Gonçalo Inácio, João Neves