Colombia 0 Portugal 0: Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi World Cup quarter-final showdown OFF after group stage flop

IS CRISTIANO Ronaldo really back? His double goal blast against Uzbekistan earlier in the week suggested so. But on a hot and humid night in Miami, CR7 was sweating with the rest of Portugal’s players and fans as Roberto Martinez’s men crept into the knockout stage, lucky to escape with a draw. And the result deprived football fans around the world of perhaps one last clash between legendary rivals Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the World Cup’s quarter-finals. Colombia, who top Group K and will face Ghana in Kansas, should have put the Portuguese out of sight. They bossed possession, racked up a whopping 24 chances and had 35 touches in the box compared to Portugal‘s 14 Read More on Football Bruno Fernandes certainly has had better nights, as has Ronaldo who huffed and puffed all night with precious little end product. With over five million applications for tickets, this clash was billed as the most in-demand match of this World Cup. Thousands of Colombians live in South Florida, and most of them seemed to be packed into the Miami Stadium, with pockets of Portuguese fans sandwiched in for good measure. They weren’t treated to a cracker, but it was the fans decked out in yellow who would have headed home far happier. Most read in Football WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS All the best chances fell to Nestor Lorenzo’s side, who blended physicality with attacking intent admirably. They will prove a hard nut to crack in the business end of this tournament. Portugal, however, will have to improve on this disappointing show. Their big players – not for the first time – failed to show up. After a pretty listless 45 minutes, both sets of fans would have been praying for more action to justify some of the exorbitant costs to come and see the first ever competitive fixture between these two, huge football nations. Colombia will argue they shaded the opening stages – Jhon Cordoba flew down the right on 16 minutes but his shot didn’t trouble Diogo Costa in the Portuguese goal. Jhon Arias also went close soon after. But Ronaldo and Co were happy to let the South Americans have the ball in what was a surprisingly low-intensity first half. CR7 – like the rest of his Portuguese teammates— was quiet; he had a long-range free-kick which amounted to nothing and barely featured. But five minutes before the interval, Martinez’s men finally clicked into gear. Manchester United’s Fernandes forced a fine stop from Colombia’s veteran keeper Camilo Vargas, Ronaldo failed to connect with an overhead kick from the rebound, before Ruben Neves’ rasping drive took a deflection that the referee didn’t spot. Colombia denied winner Colombian skipper James Rodriguez was denied by Costa on the stroke of half-time, but both bosses would have demanded more at the break. The South Americans continued to carve out the better chances and Benfica midfielder Richard Rios should have opened the scoring on the hourmark but he side-footed agonizingly past the post. It just wasn’t happening for Portugal. Fernandes was pretty anonymous while Ronaldo was starved of service. Costa kept out Arias just before the second-half hydration break. But make no mistake, this was Colombia’s game for the taking. All those chances ultimately came to nothing – including a late Davinson Sanchez header ruled out for a very marginal offside call. Their all-action display was good enough to put any future opponents here on red-alert. Portugal, and Ronaldo, meanwhile, have plenty of work to do. World Cup 2026 - all the info LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! This year’s World Cup is like no other as a record-breaking 48 nations compete to lift football’s biggest prize. England manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping to finally bring football home after a 60-year drought. But footballing legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have other plans in what will likely be their final World Cup appearance. SunSport have got everything you need for the huge tournament LATEST NEWS - England team news vs Panama ‘leaked’ as Tuchel makes popular change - Scotland World Cup hopes STILL alive – but they need these results - Mehdi Taremi in blistering attack on Fifa and reveals Infantino encounter - Cape Verde will face Argentina in World Cup knockouts - Manuel Ugarte stretchered off as Uruguay go OUT of tournament KEY INFO - World Cup 2026 full match schedule including kick-off times - World Cup 2026 full squads - World Cup 2026 rule changes - World Cup 2026 prize money VIDEO - Proper Football Daily: Get all the expert analysis each morning - Team Talk – Tactics Exposed: Dive into the tactical talking points TIPS AND BETTING If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue.