Colombia and Portugal Played a 0-0 Thriller. The Knockout Round Is Better for It.

The scoreboard said 0-0. Anyone who actually watched the game knows that’s a lie.

Colombia and Portugal went at each other in Miami on Sunday like both teams had something to prove and nothing to lose. The draw set Colombia up with Ghana in the round of 32 while Portugal gets Croatia. And if you think that sounds like a snooze, you didn’t see the last 20 minutes of this thing.

Colombia had the better chances all night. Jhon Cordoba headed over from a Luis Diaz deflection inside the first few minutes. James Rodriguez was pulling strings from deep, finding space Portugal never seemed interested in closing down. Diogo Costa had to be sharp — he turned away Cordoba’s shot on a fast break, then watched Ruben Neves clear an effort from Jhon Arias off the line.

Cristiano Ronaldo was mostly a spectator. He hit a free kick from distance that barely made Camilo Vargas work. Bruno Fernandes had a closer look after Jefferson Lerma slipped, but Vargas bailed him out with a quality save.

The first half ended in that chaotic back-and-forth where both teams just sort of forgot about defense for a few minutes. Costa handled long-range attempts from Gustavo Puerto and Rodriguez. It was loud, sloppy, and genuinely fun.

Portugal made a halftime switch, bringing Diogo Dalot on, and Joao Felix nearly connected with his head on a cross. Then Felix found Ronaldo on a break — Ronaldo rolled it wide but the flag was up anyway. Mistimed run.

Colombia brought Richard Rios on for Lerma around the hour mark. First touch? Almost a goal. He steered Arias’ cross just past the post. Rodriguez then sent Luis Suarez through with a gorgeous ball, but Suarez took too long and his shot got blocked. Suarez also had a penalty shout waved off after kicking Nuno Mendes’ leg while cutting back. It wasn’t a pen. It wasn’t egregious. It was just one of those nights.

Ruben Dias headed a ball off his own bar. Then came stoppage time.

Davinson Sanchez jumped at the back post, met Juan Fernando Quintero’s cross, and buried a header. Miami went nuts. Then the flag went up. It was tight — really tight — and VAR didn’t overturn it. Colombia players surrounded the ref. Nothing changed.

So it ends 0-0. But not really.

Colombia now gets Ghana, a team that’s never easy to play no matter who you are. Portugal gets Croatia, which is the kind of matchup where experience meets unpredictability. Both games could be cagey, or they could be wide open. Based on what we saw in Miami, don’t assume the scoreboard tells you everything.