MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – This one felt different. And it was different from well before it started, all the way through Portugal and Colombia’s scoreless but eventful draw.
At the world’s largest and most expensive edition of its biggest sporting event, the final day of World Cup group play featured a match that had been perhaps its most anticipated, with the highest ticket prices and premium demand.
The world had drawn its boldest circle around this fixture from the night it was set at the draw last December. Stars, fellow athletes and political figures were there to catch the show, from Gloria and Emilio Estefan, to Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler, to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FBI Director Kash Patel – just some of the many notable figures who were among the 64,478 in attendance.
FIFA sources said there were more than 20 million ticket requests for this match. Ticket prices surged to more than $3,000 early on in the lead-up and held steady right until match day. The average price to this year’s Super Bowl was just north of $2,000. There were tickets well into the five-digit range available for this one. We spoke to one fan who claimed to have spent $16,000 on four hospitality tickets, and he described the price as “not too bad.”
Colombia fans hold up images of James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz and Carlos Valderrama (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
Some in attendance were more fortunate than others.
“It was luck,” Santiago Foreo, a Colombian fan who won a FIFA lottery for tickets said. “I just applied for one ticket because it was my budget, stuck my credit card details in and then and thank God I got this one. I paid $60.”
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When asked if he realized that he could have sold it for thousands of dollars, given the going rate, his answer was clear.
“You don’t sell the passion for the team! I could have probably got $10,000 but watching Colombia means more than money.”
Other fans in attendance seemed almost embarrassed to admit how much they had spent. One couple, Colombian fans who said they lived in the area said they were hesitant to admit how much they had spent because they had been hiding it from their friends and family.
“Mucha plata,” the woman said as she smiled and walked away. “Mucho dinero.”
Another couple, who said they’d driven 20 hours from New York to attend the match and held a sign saying they had sold their home to be there, said they had spent $3,700 on tickets.
Jonathan Bautista and Shana Fuentes hold a sign that says ‘Mom sorry, I sold the house’ outside Miami Stadium. (Photo: The Athletic)
“We didn’t really sell our home, but we’ll do anything we can to follow Colombia all the way to the final,” said Shauna Fuentes.
Among the Portugal fans in attendance, there were a relatively small but loud group who are following the national team having traveled from abroad, a mixture of Portuguese-Americans, many who traveled from communities in the northeast, from places like New Jersey who also made long 20-plus hour drives to get to the match.
But the largest representation of red in the stadium came from people of all backgrounds who proudly wore Ronaldo’s No. 7 on their backs.
There were many with Portuguese accents and backgrounds, yes, but even more seemed to be from well beyond the Iberian peninsula.
“I wanted a chance to see the GOAT and this was my best shot,” said Andrew Fineman, a local from south Florida who said he spent “over seven hundred” dollars.
Among those there to support Portugal were Americans and fans from other Latin American countries. There were fans from nations that did not make this year’s World Cup like Chile and Peru, as well as from many flags and jerseys representing central American nations. There were also fans of countries who are playing at the tournament who were making their pilgrimage to watch the player they hold as their GOAT or simply to get their chance to watch one of the most famous athletes in the world ply their trade in person.
There were even Colombian fans with yellow and red split shirts, who swore allegiance to their beloved Colombia, but wanted to pay their respect to one of the legends of the game.
Colombian fans show their support for Cristiano Ronaldo before the Portugal-Colombia match. (Photo: The Athletic)
The Ronaldo Stans were out in droves, including one who dressed in a full kit and appeared to be playing the role of a ‘look-alike’ hoping to catch Ronaldo’s glimpse while awaiting his entry onto the field two hours before the match started.
About six hours before the match began and before people were even allowed to be in the vicinity of Miami Stadium (better known as Hard Rock Stadium when FIFA’s not around), traffic lines were more congested than they had been for any of the previous three World Cup matches played here. That includes Brazil and World Cup darling Scotland earlier in the week, putting the Tartan Army’s threats of ‘No Scotland, No Party’ under legitimate scrutiny.
As it turns out, there was still indeed a party after they left. The party guests started to file in about three hours before kickoff, as FIFA protocol dictates, but they were hoping to come in much earlier and were already lined up outside.
There is a thing about the color yellow that catches your eye and paints the backdrop of sporting events in a way no other does. Whether it is the canary yellow of Brazil, Ecuador and indeed Colombia, they began to drown the Miami Dolphins teal green seats stadium as soon as the doors opened.
Unlike in other matches, there did not appear to be one clear Portugal-dominated section, with bits of bold red sprinkled throughout instead, but where there was red, it was always surrounded by yellow.
When Portugal first appeared, and when Ronaldo’s name was announced with the starters, the Colombian boos largely outnumbered the cheers, but also managed to blend with the trademark ‘‘SIIIIIUUUUU’’ that is present wherever the world’s most famous No 7 is.
A Portugal fan pays tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo (Evrim Aydin/Getty Images)
There were lessons that were clearly learned after the debacle that occurred at this stadium the last time Colombia played a major match here, against Argentina at the Copa America final in 2024 that resulted in mass chaos with many un-ticketed fans sneaking their way in.
A source at the Miami-Dade Police Department, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not permitted to do so publicly, says there has been significant improvement in organization efforts made for this World Cup in comparison to the Copa America, which was organized by CONMEBOL.
Access to the area around the stadium has been restricted. The typical pre-game gatherings and tailgates that happen in the parking lots have been significantly reduced. To access the highway exits just to enter the area of the stadium, fans are required to print out proof of having pre-purchased parking or take shuttle buses that are, fittingly, yellow school buses that drop fans off at a nearby casino where they are met with their first of several check points.
Those checkpoints are the type you see at major events like the Super Bowl. Because of this, there were few, if any, random visitors or people who don’t belong, hoping to gain a last minute way into these matches.
The result has been a straight forward entry and exit process. The lines are longer and require quite a bit more patience, and you’d better be comfortable in tight spaces with people as they herd people into specific areas without any room or ability to wander.
As for the match itself, with Colombia and Portugal assured of moving on to the round of 32, the lowered stakes robbed the match of a bit of the electricity it might have otherwise had. It may also have added to a commendable display by both sides on the pitch.
There were no goals, but it was a wide open contest with spells and good scoring chances for both teams, adding to the fun — and anxiety — in the stands. It was a great watch for the neutrals in attendance and at home.
In the 90th minute, the Colombia fans got their moment to erupt when it appeared they took a 1-0 lead on a headed goal that was flagged for offsides while the celebration was ongoing and later upheld by VAR by a margin as small as a literal toenail.
So was it all worth it to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to see a nil-nil draw? To paraphrase the many fans of all kinds that we conducted an informal exit poll on as they left the stadium, the overwhelming majority said:
‘SIIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUUUU!’
Additional reporting: Dan Sheldon
