Colombia holds Portugal to 0-0, wins Group K at World Cup 2026

Colombia left Hard Rock Stadium with the result it needed and a performance that looked better than a scoreless draw. The 0-0 against Portugal in Miami gave Néstor Lorenzo’s side first place in Group K at World Cup 2026, while Portugal settled for second and had to watch the group lead slip away.

The match turned on margins, not a lack of ambition. FIFA recorded 36 total efforts on goal in a game that never produced a finish, and Colombia came closest to changing the result when Davinson Sánchez scored in stoppage time only for VAR to rule him offside. The decision left Colombia unbeaten in group play after earlier wins over Uzbekistan and Congo DR, and the point was enough to secure the group because Colombia had entered the night knowing a draw would be sufficient. Portugal, by contrast, needed a win to finish first and never found one.

Lorenzo did not sound interested in treating the result as a missed opportunity. He called it a “partidazo” and said Colombia had matched, and even surpassed, a candidate for the title, while also pointing to the heat in Miami and comparing the conditions with Barranquilla. That was not empty praise. Colombia spent long stretches forcing Portugal into uncomfortable positions, and the clearest late chance belonged to Sánchez before the offside flag erased it. For a side that had already handled Uzbekistan and Congo DR, the performance suggested Colombia is not relying only on efficiency in a soft group; it can also stand up to a heavyweight opponent.

James Rodríguez backed that view from inside the squad. He said Colombia produced an “excellent in all lines” performance and agreed that only the goal was missing. That assessment matched the scoreboard and the wider pattern: Colombia left with control of the group, Portugal left with the pressure of a harder knockout path, and the South Americans left with evidence that their ceiling may be higher than the bracket had suggested.

The draw sent Colombia on to Ghana in Kansas City on July 4, while Portugal will face Croatia in Toronto on July 3. It also gave Colombia a notable marker in its World Cup history: its first 0-0 draw in 25 matches at the tournament, a statistic that captures how unusual this result was for a team that looked, for one night, far more like a contender than a cohabitant in a scoreless stalemate.