Bruno Fernandes expects a hostile reception in Miami when Portugal face already qualified Colombia – despite Cristiano Ronaldo being one of the world’s biggest stars.
Thousands of Colombian fans are expected to flock to the Hard Rock Stadium to watch their team take the point they need to secure the top spot in World Cup Group K. The victories over Uzbekistan and DR Congo were played in Mexico, meaning this is the first time Colombians living in the United States will get to see Nestor Lorenzo’s men live.
Read: Tottenham make huge bid of £100m – chasing ‘incredibly fast’ star
Manchester United captain Fernandes acknowledges that there will be yellow supporters in South Florida tonight.
“I think against Colombia there will be more Colombians than people cheering for Portugal, but that’s okay – it’s football,” he said.
“There will be games where we have most people on our side, and others where we don’t. It’s part of football.
Portugal needs a win to take over first place from Colombia. They go into the match with great confidence after a morale-boosting 5-0 win over Uzbekistan. Manager Roberto Martinez stuck with the pressured Ronaldo, and his patience was rewarded when the Al-Nassr player scored twice – becoming Portugal’s all-time top scorer, as well as the first male player to score in six World Cup finals.
At least as important was that it dampened the noise around Ronaldo and his value to the team.
“It was important for our captain to score. For us, it was essential that he scored. He is our key player in attack. We are very happy for him,” Fernandes added.
World Cup 2026: Colombia vs Portugal team news
Lorenzo will likely keep changes to a minimum and try to achieve a positive result to maintain momentum going into the knockout rounds. Striker Luis Suárez has overcome a shoulder problem and is expected to start.
Portugal defender Tomás Araújo is very uncertain, which means that Renato Veiga and Rúben Dias will once again be the central defence pairing.
Colombia vs Portugal: Predicted line-ups for the 2026 World Cup
Colombia (4-2-3-1): Vargas – Muñoz, Sánchez, Lucumí, Mojica – Puerta, Arias – Lerma – J. Rodríguez, L. Suárez, Díaz
Portugal (4-3-3): D. Costa – Cancelo, Dias, Veiga, Mendes – Vitinha, Fernandes, J. Neves – Neto, Ronaldo, Félix
Where to watch Colombia vs Portugal: TV channel and live streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 01:30 CET (19:30 ET Saturday / 16:30 PT Saturday). In the UK, the match will be broadcast live on BBC One. Streaming is available via the BBC iPlayer app and the BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Colombia vs Portugal statistics
- None of Colombia’s World Cup matches have ended 0-0. Only Austria (29) has played more World Cup matches without a goalless draw.
- Only Argentina (31) scored more goals than Colombia (28) in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. Colombia scored the most headers (7) of all teams.
- Lionel Messi (8) is the only player to have scored more goals than Colombia’s Luis Díaz (7) in qualifying.
- James Rodríguez led the assists list with seven – three more than any other player.
- Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo is in his first World Cup as a coach, but is one of three coaches in the 2026 tournament to have played in the final – he played for Argentina in the 1990 final against West Germany.
- Lorenzo led Colombia to their first Copa America final in 23 years in 2024, but lost after extra time to Argentina.
- Since Portugal’s best World Cup finish – third place in 1966 – their only other semi-final appearance has been in 2006, when they were eliminated by France and lost the bronze final to host nation Germany.
- Portugal is one of five European teams that have participated in every World Cup since 2002 – along with England, France, Germany and Spain.
- They have reached the knockout stages in four of their last five World Cup tournaments and scored in 10 of their last 11 playoff games, with the exception being the 1-0 quarter-final loss to Morocco in 2022.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have scored in six World Cup tournaments, and the only one – along with Messi – to have participated in six editions.
- Portugal’s head coach Roberto Martínez is in his third World Cup as manager. He led Belgium to third place in 2018 and to exit in the group stage in 2022.
- Martínez is the third non-Portuguese head coach to lead Portugal in a play-off – after Brazilians Otto Glória and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
World Cup 2026: Colombia vs. Portugal prediction
If Portugal shoots like they did against Uzbekistan, they must be stopped. However, Colombia is a completely different challenge – and should be good enough to take the point they need to finish on top.
Prediction: Colombia 1-1 Portugal
Read on F7: Two Premier League giants throw themselves into the competition for Andreas Schjelderup
