Breathless and goalless: Colombia and Portugal draw 0-0 to advance, and a VAR call breaks Colombian hearts

Colombia and Portugal played out a breathless 0-0 in Miami to both reach the Round of 32, Colombia as Group K winners and Portugal second. Rúben Neves cleared off the line, Camilo Vargas denied Bruno Fernandes, and a stoppage-time Davinson Sánchez goal was ruled out by VAR. Ronaldo, 41, drew another blank as the Messi comparisons grew.

Not every great game has goals. Colombia and Portugal played out a breathless 0-0 in Miami, a high-intensity, end-to-end battle of thirty-plus shots that, for all its quality, refused to be broken. The single point suited both: Colombia took top spot in Group K, Portugal went through second, and a sold-out Hard Rock Stadium got its money's worth of drama anyway.

Colombia were the early aggressors. Inside the first minute Jhon Córdoba glanced a Luis Díaz cross narrowly over, and moments later Jhon Arias looked certain to score after a clever James Rodríguez reverse pass, only for Rúben Neves to produce a dramatic clearance off his own goal line.

Portugal weathered the storm and grew into it. Bruno Fernandes forced Camilo Vargas into a spectacular diving save before the break, and at forty-one years old Cristiano Ronaldo played the full ninety. Marked tightly by Davinson Sánchez, he was quiet but never quite harmless.

The climax came in stoppage time and broke Colombian hearts. From a short corner, Davinson Sánchez stabbed the ball into the net and the stadium erupted, before an agonisingly precise VAR check ruled it out: his toe had strayed marginally offside. The deadlock held to the whistle.

The point reshaped both nations' paths. By winning the group, Colombia sidestepped heavyweights like Spain and France on their side of the bracket; they travel to Kansas City to face Ghana. Portugal take the tougher road, drawn against Croatia in the Round of 32. Behind them, DR Congo's fairytale earned third place and a date with England.

Inevitably, the night fed the eternal debate. Just hours after Lionel Messi broke another record for Argentina, Ronaldo endured a frustrating, scoreless group finale, held quiet by Colombia much as he had been against DR Congo. With Portugal second and Argentina first in their groups, the two greats now sit on opposite sides of the bracket, able to meet only in the final. The dream is alive, but only just.

For Kenya, this was box-office on every front. Local fans loved Colombia's relentless football, debated Ronaldo's quiet evening against Messi's heroics, and felt for the Colombians over the disallowed winner. The bigger pull, though, is the next round: Colombia versus Ghana is an African occasion Nairobi will adopt wholesale. Ronaldo amekaa kimya, lakini Colombia wamecheza kazi, sasa tunangoja Ghana: Ronaldo stayed quiet, but Colombia did the work, and now we wait for Ghana. Our South America verdict had Colombia as dark horses, while our Europe verdict flagged questions over this Portugal.