Buoyed by winning their first two games, Colombia started strongly, with Jhon Cordoba especially dangerous, as he headed just over before forcing Diogo Costa into a superb save from an acute angle. Cordoba’s namesake, Jhon Arias, then saw his shot expertly cleared off the line by Ruben Neves.
Portugal eventually grew into the first half, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s first sight of goal saw him take on a free-kick from distance that Camilo Vargas got behind with relative ease.
However, the Colombian goalkeeper’s credentials were on full display when he showed cat-like reactions to stop Bruno Fernandes from close range, before Joao Felix’s acrobatic effort looped just over. At the other end, Costa had to be alert to parry away James Rodriguez’s strike, rounding off an entertaining, yet goalless half.
Plenty of chances were shared early in the second half too, as Felix headed over from a promising position and Jefferson Lerma shot straight down Costa’s throat. Colombia started to grab a foothold, and substitute Richard Rios would have been disappointed to find the wrong side of the post from Rodriguez’s cutback.
Costa was then called into action again to palm away Arias’ deflected strike, as Los Cafeteros continued to probe for a breakthrough.
Colombia had scored after the 75th minute in four of their previous five games, and they looked the most likely to find a late winner as they peppered the Portuguese goal, with Davinson Sanchez even having a goal disallowed for the most marginal of offsides in stoppage time.
As a result, the South Americans hold onto top spot in the group, setting up a Round of 32 match with Ghana. Meanwhile, Portugal may have extended their unbeaten record against CONMEBOL opposition in WC group games to four (W2, D2), but it wasn’t enough to climb above Colombia, meaning Roberto Martinez’s side will play Croatia in the next round.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Santiago Arias (Colombia)