Colombia forces a draw against Portugal.

Colombia held Portugal to a draw (0-0) and took the lead in Group 11 of the 2026 World Cup in football, on Saturday in Miami during the final round of the group stage.

After both teams had already secured qualification, Colombia raised its points total to 7, compared to 5 for Portugal and 4 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which secured its qualification by defeating Uzbekistan 3-1.

The match witnessed great competitiveness and a fierce battle for the top spot in the group, which grants its holder a match against Ghana in the Round of 32 in Kansas, and a potential matchup against Switzerland in the Round of 16.

On the other hand, Portugal, if it overcomes the strong Croatia in Toronto, will face a potentially very difficult match against Spain, the European champion, in the Round of 16.

Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo (41 years old) silenced his critics by scoring two goals during Portugal's big win over Uzbekistan 5-0, achieving a record by scoring in six different World Cups. However, against Colombia, the "Don" was lackluster in a fast-paced match, while veteran Colombian James Rodríguez shone.

Portugal's best result is third place in 1966, followed by fourth place in 2006, and they reached the quarter-finals in the last edition in 2022 in Qatar.

As for Colombia, led by Luis Díaz, which won in this round against Uzbekistan 3-1 and then against the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0, its best result was reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 in Brazil, while it missed the last finals in Qatar.

At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, in front of 64,000 spectators, veteran striker John Córdoba nearly opened the scoring with a counterattack when he easily outpaced Bruno Fernandes, before unleashing a powerful shot that was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Diogo Costa (17).

John Arias then shot a ball that went past the Portuguese goalkeeper and found Ruben Neves, the Al Hilal player, waiting to clear it before it crossed the line (22).

From a dangerous Portuguese opportunity, Fernandes turned and shot a powerful ball that was saved by the goalkeeper, and Ronaldo failed to follow up acrobatically (39), then his teammate at Al Nassr, João Félix, shot over the bar (42).

Colombian star James concluded the first half's chances with a powerful shot that Costa saved (45+3).

Although the match ended in a goalless draw, it saw 24 attempts from Colombia (6 on target) and 13 from Portugal (2 on target).