Ronaldomania comes to Miami, but Ronaldo quiet in Portugal-Colombia World Cup scoreless draw
While most of the fans at Hard Rock Stadium for Saturday’s highly anticipated group stage match between Colombia and Portugal were there to cheer on Colombia, all eyes were still on 41-year-old Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
But in front of a pro-Colombia crowd that turned Hard Rock Stadium’s aqua seats yellow, Ronaldo was quiet in what turned out to be a scoreless draw between Portugal and Colombia on Saturday night in Miami. The result was enough for Colombia to win Group K and Portugal to finish as the runner-up in the group, with both teams advancing to the knockout stage.
Ronaldo generated three shots in the first half, including one shot on goal. His lone shot on goal in Saturday’s first half came of a free kick, but it rolled right into the hands of Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
The second half was even less eventful for Ronaldo, who didn’t get a shot off after halftime.
Ronaldo closed Saturday’s tie with three shots and only one shot on goal. He played the full match.
Should Portugal have rested Ronaldo against Colombia, considering Portugal entered Saturday’s match already assured of advancing to the knockout stage? Argentina (rested Lionel Messi) Norway (rested Erling Haaland) rested their best players in their final group stage game because both teams had already clinched a spot in the knockout rounds.
“We don’t compare our players with players from other teams,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said. “That would be childish and very unprofessional. We monitor all the information. We made substitutions, such as Ruben Neves played 45 [minutes] and Joao Neves came in for 45 [minutes]. [Diogo Dalot] came in for [Joao] Cancelo. But they play different positions on the pitch. Cristiano is used to being out there, was in the right place at the right time, there was not an issue physically or mentally for him to play 90 minutes. Maybe next game we need to make a change, but not in this game.”
Saturday was the continuation of a relatively quiet start to the World Cup for Ronaldo. He didn’t score a goal and didn’t even record a shot on goal in Portugal’s disappointing 1-1 tie with Congo on June 17 to begin the group stage, but bounced back with two goals in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan.
Ronaldo, who has totaled 10 World Cup goals during his career, finished the three-game group stage of this World Cup with two goals and six shots on goal.
There was only a smattering of red in a crowd full of Colombia fans, and Ronaldo’s Portugal jersey made up most of the red around the stadium. Some fans flew from Portugal to Miami to watch Ronaldo play in his 25th career World Cup match.
One fan even arrived with a sign that read, “I skipped my mortgage to watch CR7.”
“It’s a big inspiration for all of us in Portugal,” said Ronaldo supporter Tiago Abaricio, who took the 10-hour flight from Portugal to Miami to attend Saturday’s match. “He carries our flag internationally. Nowadays, people know where Portugal is because of Ronaldo. He’s just a god to us.”
Other Ronaldo fans in attendance were locals who made the short drive to watch their favorite soccer player. They had high hopes for Ronaldo on Saturday after he scored two goals in his last match.
“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.”
But Ronaldo didn’t get any goals on Saturday. Neither team did in the scoreless match.
The next World Cup match at Hard Rock Stadium will feature Ronaldo’s rival, when Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina take on Cape Verde on Friday in the Round of 32.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo and Portugal now head to Toronto as the group’s runner-up to take on Croatia on Thursday in the Round of 32.
“Our focus now is Croatia,” Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa said. “Maybe there will be a bit more attention now because it’s a knockout match, but we’re not too concerned about that. It’s Croatia, full focus, and we always approach every national team in the same way, with the greatest possible respect.”
