MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Colombian soccer fans had been eagerly awaiting Saturday’s World Cup match against Portugal since the draw was announced back in December, counting the days, shelling out big bucks for tickets, dusting off their blonde, curly Valderrama wigs, so they didn’t mind waiting for hours in the sweltering heat to get into Hard Rock Stadium.

And, although the game ended in a scoreless tie after a flurry of missed chances, including an apparent goal by Davinson Sanchez that was called offside by a toe in added time, the Colombian fans had a good day.

Both teams advanced to the round of 32. Portugal will face Croatia on Thursday and Colombia plays Ghana on Friday.

Fans of “Los Cafeteros” (The Coffeemakers) showed up as early as 8 a.m, more than 11 hours before kickoff.

By 2:30 p.m., two hours before the gates opened, the line to get in had snaked all the way to the Walmart at the corner of N.W. 27th Ave. and 199th St. There are more than 240,000 Colombians living in South Florida, so this was practically a home game and the stadium reflected that. It was awash in yellow as more than three quarters of the sellout crowd of 64,478 was rooting for Colombia.

They cheered with every Colombia attack, booed whenever Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates got in scoring position, and went wild when Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas made a brilliant first-half save, knocking away a Bruno Fernandes shot from inside the box. Ronaldo tried a bicycle kick on the rebound, to no avail.

The game remained scoreless at halftime.

Colombia, which entered the game in first place in Group K, held a slight edge in possession time, 54% to 46% and had three shots on goal to Portugal’s two.

Among the familiar faces in attendance at the game were U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived with Inter Miami owners Jorge and Jose Mas. FBI Director Kash Patel was also there, seated with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Also on the VIP list were former Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who wore a Colombia jersey and hat, J Balvin, Matt Damon, Carin Leon and Camila Cabello.

Colombian fans serenaded their heroes outside the Dalmar Hotel, the team hotel, in Fort Lauderdale Friday night. They showed up outside the team’s training session at Inter Miami Fort Lauderdale stadium on Friday, hoping to get a peek of the team bus. They also turned a “banderazo” (pep rally) at Dolphin Mall into a sea of yellow on Friday.

More than 40,000 Colombian fans were expected at the match and this time, nobody was crashing through the gates without tickets, as thousands did for the 2024 Copa America final against Argentina. Security was extra tight, with three checkpoints, and the mood was festive.

The most popular Colombia jerseys were James Rodriguez’s No. 10 and Luis “Lucho” Diaz’s No. 7, which was as visible as the No. 7 of Portuguese megastar Cristiano Ronaldo. Many Colombian fans also wore blonde, curly wigs, an homage to legendary national team star Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, who played for the Miami Fusion from 1997 to 1999.

Mauricio Cadavid, 41, of Hollywood is a diehard Colombian fan who paid $2,300 for a ticket to the game and arrived at the stadium at 1:30 p.m. He also attended the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and saw Colombia play Uruguay at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

“The minute I saw Colombia was playing here in Miami, I knew I had to get a ticket,” Cadavid said. “The team is playing very well and this match they don’t have much pressure because they have already qualified for the knockout round, though we want them to win because that will mean an easier path.”

Cadavid’s favorite player is Diaz, because of his skill and his fighting spirit, but he maintains that the 1994 Colombian team was the best of all time. “That team was the start of the great Colombian teams that followed,” he said.

Sebastian Silva and his son, Martin, traveled to the game from Manizales, Colombia. They are huge Ronaldo fans, but also diehard Colombia fans, so they wore shirts that were half Colombia and half Ronaldo.

“We are rooting for a 3-3 tie, with Ronaldo scoring all three of Portugal’s goals,” the elder Silva said, smiling. “That would be a perfect game.”

Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo made three changes to the Starting XI that faced Congo in the previous match. Santiato Arias, Deiver Machado and Jhon Cordoba replaced Luis Suarez, Johan Mojica and Daniel Munoz.

The only change on Portugal’s lineup was Ruben Neves for Joao Neves.

Colombia wasted no time imposing itself on the Portugal defense, taking two shots in the opening minutes, the first a header by Cordoba after a Diaz shot was deflected, and another by Rodriguez that went wide. Cordoba is the leading scorer in the Russian league and was getting a chance to showcase himself on the world’s biggest stage.

Portugal fans were hoping for a big game from Ronaldo, the 41-year-old icon and only player to score at six World Cups. He struggled in the opening 1-1 tie against Congo but quieted the critics with a pair of goals against Uzbekistan.

One of the best Ronaldo signs spotted in the pre-game Fan Zone: “I skipped my mortgage to watch CR7.”

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