World Cup live updates: Game ends in 0-0 tie, but Colombian fans brought the vibes

South Florida is hosting its fourth FIFA World Cup match with Colombia taking on Portugal, with kick off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium (which has been renamed Miami Stadium and stripped of all non-FIFA corporate branding for the duration of the five-week tournament).

The Miami Herald will keep you updated on what is going on inside the stadium as soon as the gates open in this live updates blog.

Game ends in 0-0 tie, but Colombian fans brought the vibes

Colombian soccer fans had been eagerly awaiting Saturday’s World Cup clash against Portugal since the draw was announced back in December, counting the days, shelling out big bucks for tickets, dusting off their blonde, curly Valderrama wigs, so they didn’t mind waiting for hours in the sweltering heat to get into Hard Rock Stadium.

And, although the game ended in a goalless tie after a flurry of missed chances, including an apparent goal by Davinson Sanchez that was called off side by a toe in added time, the Colombian fans left celebrating because their team won the group. They belted out their chants and waved flags all the way down the stadium exit ramps.

Read the full story here: Colombia ties Portugal 0-0, wins group in front of festive sellout Miami crowd

Marco Rubio, Kash Patel attend the match

7:45 p.m. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the World Cup match between Colombia and Portugal at Hard Rock Stadium, with the West Miami Republican arriving with local soccer moguls Jose and Jorge Mas.

Shortly after 7 p.m., Rubio was spotted being dropped off by a security detail on a side entrance to the stadium. Dressed in a blazer and open collar shirt, he greeted personnel stationed in the private walkway reserved for high-profile guests. It appeared his wife, Jeanette Rubio, was with him as well.

Rubio was later spotted in the stands with FBI Director Kash Patel and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

-Doug Hanks

Fans outside the gates since 8 a.m.

7 p.m. Colombian soccer fans, some of the most passionate in the sport, showed up as early as 8 a.m. around Hard Rock Stadium Saturday, more than 11 hours before kickoff of their national team’s World Cup match against Portugal.

By 2:30 p.m., two hours before the gates opened, the line to get in had snaked all the way to the Walmart at the corner of N.W. 27^th Ave. and 199^th St. There are more than 240,000 Colombians living in South Florida, so this was like a home game for them.

They serenaded “Los Cafeteros” (their team’s nickname) outside the team hotel, the Dalmar Hotel, in Fort Lauderdale Friday night. They showed up outside the team’s training session at Inter Miami Fort Lauderdale stadium on Friday, hoping to get a peek of the team bus. They also turned a “banderazo” (pep rally) at Dolphin Mall into a sea of yellow on Friday.

Read the full story: Colombia fans arrive early, loud and proud for World Cup match in Miami

Free charm bracelets for World Cup fans

6:40 p.m. The feels-like temperature may be 100 degrees outside the stadium, but that doesn’t make it too hot to wait in line for free jewelry.

“We’ve been in line for about 30 minutes,” a cheerful Emily Castaneda said from her spot within sight of the Bank of America Fan Band kiosk, where it looked like 200 people stood between Castaneda, friend Arlene Venencia, and their free World Cup charm bracelets. They weren’t discouraged by the full sun above or the extensive bodies in line ahead. “It’s moving quickly,” Castaneda said.

The prize is a bracelet with various charms representing FIFA competitors and their host countries. There was some buzz that the Colombia charms were running low or (gasp) extinguished, but Castaneda and Venecia were there for Portugal charms to match their jerseys. They’re visiting from Los Angeles. Asked why they wanted Portugal bracelets, Venencia responded: “Rolando.”

At the end of the line, Isabella Castro, 22, was enjoying success. She had two bracelets in hand, becharmed with an eagle, a FIFA trophy and a Portugal avatar. Castro, a visitor from Guatemala, said the wait was 45 minutes and she picked Portugal because of Ronaldo, too.

How did she know about the charms process?

“I didn’t,” she said. “I just got in line.”

-Douglas Hanks

‘He’s just a god to us’

6:30 p.m. While Colombia fans outnumbered Portugal’s supporters, there were still plenty of Cristiano Ronaldo fans enjoying the pre-match festivities around Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

Tiago Abaricio flew to Miami from Portugal to support the Portuguese superstar.

“It’s a big inspiration for all of us in Portugal,” Abaricio said of Ronaldo. “He carries our flag internationally. Nowadays, people know where Portugal is because of Ronaldo. He’s just a god to us.”

Even with Colombia fans throwing playful jabs at the Portugal fans wearing Ronaldo jerseys, Ronaldo’s supporters entered Saturday’s match with high expectations for the 41-year-old after he scored two goals in Portugal’s group stage win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

“I think he’s back.” said Ryan Reza, a Ronaldo fan from Jupiter. “I definitely think he’s not the prime Ronaldo from the past. But the effort on the field last game, I mean, I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s going to put up two goals today. At least two goals.”

-Anthony Chiang

‘Vamos Colombia’

5:21 p.m. Walk around the stadium and visitors quickly pick up on a constant refrain: off-key, boisterous singing in Spanish. That’s “Vamos Colombia,” the equivalent of a fight song for the team that clearly has the overwhelming support of the ticket holders tonight.

Julian Ramirez, 35, was with his family outside the northeast gate when he started belting out the opening lines of “Vamos Colombia.” By the end of the first verse, it seemed like half of the passerby were joining in.

“We just want the team to feel the power of their supporters,” said Ramirez, a vacationer from Medellin.

But one of the youngest fans at the stadium, Andre Serras, could be forgiven for not quite knowing who to root for tonight. His mother’s family comes from Colombia. His father’s family comes from Portugal. And both parents are here with him for the game, visiting from New Jersey.

To keep everybody happy, Andre, age one, showed up today with a hybrid jersey: Colombia yellow on the left and Portugal burgundy on the right.

“I had to buy both jerseys,” explained Kevin Serros, his 34-year-old dad. “And then have my mother sew them together.”

‘No routes available’

4 p.m. Traffic is at a standstill beginning around Northwest 183rd Street near Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens ahead of the Portugal match against Colombia. The traffic congestion ahead of the match is much worse than the previous three Miami hosted.

Multiple fans told the Miami Herald that Google Maps and Waze continued routing them toward closed roads/turnpike exits or the apps would fail to even generate a route to Miami Stadium. One fan specifically produced a screenshot of Google Maps saying “No route available to this destination.” from when she left her house.

Tyler Peña, a Miami resident with Colombian heritage, had family attending the game and hoped to spend time with them before kickoff.

“I expected there to be a ton of traffic, but I also didn’t expect things to just be completely blocked off like this either,” Peña said.

The strict approach wasn’t necessarily unwarranted.

The last time Colombia played at Miami Stadium, the 2024 Copa América final against Argentina was delayed more than 75 minutes after a security breach involving ticketless fans, with some appearing to enter through air vents.

Still, fans were surprised by the lack of atmosphere permitted outside the stadium, especially in South Florida, where nearly 240,000 Colombians lived in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 2023, according to the American Community Survey.

“I can see why they’re strict because of last time,” Peña said. “I’m just surprised that there was no way for us to hang out around the stadium at all.”

-Tyler Carmona

Portuguese fans in a sea of yellow

3:30 p.m. In a snaking line of hundreds of yellow jerseys waiting for World Cup shuttle buses at the Golden Glades transit hub, Manny and Philip Acosta stood out in Portugal burgundy.

The father-and-son duo from Central Florida drove down to see Manny’s native Portugal take on Colombia, a team with legions of fans in Miami. Both wore Portugal flags and brought the patience required for World Cup logistics, where getting to the stadium is an extended — and often pricey — process.

Their tickets cost “north of $2,000,” said Philip, 41. The tickets included passes to board one of the charter buses Miami-Dade County is providing for FIFA. They’re in high demand: By 3 p.m., it looked like about 1,000 people were in line, the vast majority wearing Colombia’s signature yellow.

For Manny, 75, Portugal’s appearance in a World Cup match in Florida was a chance to celebrate the country he and his family left as teenagers. Now retired in the Flagler Beach area, he said he lives in a community where many Portuguese Americans settled. He had already run into friends from back home at Portugal-themed events across the Miami area, including Friday’s pregame celebration on South Beach.

“I am proud to be Portuguese,” he said. “But I am more proud to be an American.”

-Douglas Hanks

Colombian fans are heading to the game early

3 p.m. The first stadium shuttle wasn’t due for hours when Andrey Ladino, a Bogota native, took his place at the front of the line at the Golden Glades transit hub off I-95.

“We had heard a lot of comments about people getting there late,” he said of the Miami Stadium (what locals know as Hard Rock Stadium) about three miles away. “We didn’t want to take any chances.”

He was soon in loyal company, with hundreds of fans in Colombia yellow shirts behind him awaiting coach buses provided by Miami-Dade County as part of its transportation contribution to FIFA.

Unlike regular county buses, these require a match ticket to board. That didn’t come cheap to Ladino, 44, a flight dispatcher at Miami International Airport who now lives in Hollywood, and his family. Joined by his wife, Gyna Parrado; his father, Jose Ladino; and friend Julian Calero, Ladino said tickets for the night’s match against Portugal cost $1,600 apiece. He said he didn’t hesitate.

“We’ve been living here so long,” said Ladino, who left his home country in the 1990s. “The game is right in our backyard. And the other team is Portugal, with Ronaldo.”

“It was a two-second decision,” he said.

The more than 1,000 people waiting for a stadium shuttle had mostly each other and their phones to keep them company. And then there was the guy laying on the car horn somewhere nearby — oh wait, that’s just Javier Ocampo, 43, and his collapsible vuvuzela.

“This is a baby one,” Ocampo said, holding up the plastic toy famous for its loud noise.

He brought it from his native Cali, Colombia (“the best city in the world”), as part of a World Cup vacation that started Wednesday. He’s not sure stadium security will be welcoming his noise-making goals for the match. “It’s a shame,” he said with a smile.” We need to cheer on our team.”

-Douglas Hanks

The hottest group stage match is in Miami

From the moment the World Cup draw was announced in December, the most sought-after group stage ticket in the entire tournament was the Colombia vs. Portugal showdown Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The highly anticipated clash involves two teams with a legitimate chance to win the tournament and two massive fan bases with a strong presence in the United States. Colombia’s national team, nicknamed “Los Cafeteros” (the coffee makers), has an extremely passionate following and South Florida is home to nearly 240,000 Colombians.

Also boosting demand and driving ticket prices for Saturday’s game is the fact that 41-year-old superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 669 million Instagram followers, is captain of the Portuguese team and has said this World Cup will be his last, making each appearance a high-profile event.

Read the full story: Colombia faces Portugal (and Ronaldo) in high stakes, high-priced Miami match

Can you still get tickets?

Are you looking for a ticket to Colombia vs. Portugal Saturday night in Miami? It’s one of the most highly anticipated World Cup group stage matches. You’re in luck. Tickets are still available via online resale sites.

But — and it’s a big but — admission to the match at Hard Rock Stadium isn’t cheap.

Read the full story: Can you still get tickets to Colombia vs. Portugal World Cup match in Miami?

If you have a ticket

To start, we have a comprehensive guide with everything you need to know about today’s match for those that have a ticket with tips getting to the stadium, parking, what kind of bags you can bring inside, what kind of instruments, flags and signs you can bring into the stadium — anything you can think of.

Important info for ticketholders who also purchased a parking pass: In addition to the electronic pass you received, you must print and display the pass included in e-mail on your windshield. Only cars with this pass can access roads near the stadium. So, you will need an electronic ticket, an electronic parking pass and a printed out road access pass that goes in your windshield/dashboard. — Michelle Kaufman

Read the story: Going to a World Cup game at Miami Stadium? Here’s everything you need to know

Watch parties

For the rest of us mere mortals who plan to watch the match on a screen, there are so many options around town to watch with soccer fans, from the official Fan Fest in Bayfront Park, to local municipal watch parties to parties hosted at local bars and restaurants that feature food and drink specials.

Read the full stories:

Looking for a World Cup watch party in Miami? See list of free community events

How to watch the World Cup in Miami away from the stadium. See the choices

World Cup is here! What you need to know about Miami Fan Fest, transportation

What do you need to know about the teams before the game?

Take a look at team history, players to watch and where FIFA ranks both teams.

Read the full story: Here’s a guide to the seven World Cup teams (and their fans) headed to Miami

This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 3:56 PM.