If Roberto Martinez hoped any griping in his direction would be limited to those pesky questions about Cristiano Ronaldo, then perhaps he didn’t factor on Colombia’s fondness for chaos. Wonderful, brilliant, confidence-destroying chaos.
They weren’t able to deploy it in a winning cause, but Colombia’s success could be measured in their sheer domination of Portugal via a performance that secured them top spot of Group K.
In truth, they deserved even more, because three points were warranted and would have been obtained had the VAR not intervened in stoppage time to rule Davinson Sanchez was offside by the length of a toe.
With that call, Martinez was spared a greater inquisition, but at the very least he must now prepare for Croatia in the last-32 and the potential rigours of Spain immediately thereafter. Those are tough tests and there will be tough sleeps, also, as he contemplates the defensive vulnerabilities that were put on global display here, along with the ongoing ineffectiveness of Ronaldo against better opposition.
For Colombia, the outlook is substantially brighter. They are an ageing bunch, for sure, but they are also unbeaten and hard as nails. Next up for them is Ghana.
Here, Daily Mail Sport assesses how that all came to pass…
Cristiano Ronaldo struggled to impose himself as Portugal drew 0-0 with Colombia
The Ronaldo question
After his two-goal contribution against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo declared: ‘I’m back.’
Well, he isn’t. He really isn’t. His mission here was to show he still had capacity to shape games against better defences and he failed dismally.
It took five minutes for him to log his first touch and at no point across the night did he have the speed of movement to escape Davinson Sanchez and Jhon Lucumi.
The mitigation here came from the lack of service – Vitinha didn’t assert his presence in midfield until the second half and Ruben Neves was a significant downgrade on Joao Neves after being brought into the team by Roberto Martinez. There was precious little success any time Neves looked for a forward ball and Bruno Fernandes, too, was anonymous.
Ronaldo can share some blame there – he was hardly a moving target for them – but nor did he use his opportunities well. Aside from one attempted overhead and a free-kick straight at the Colombian keeper, his two main contributions were runs into offside positions when smarter running would have gifted him a pair of one-on-ones.
Defensively, he offered even less – no tackles and no interceptions, which carried a consequence, because so many Colombian moves started at the feet of Sanchez and Lucumi.
Once again, Martinez left him on for the full 90 minutes. How much evidence does he need?
In this instance, Ronaldo will be shielded by the broader nature of the inquest – Fernandes failed every bit as much as his captain and both Pedro Neto and Joao Felix failed to achieve any momentum on the flanks
For Ronaldo and Portugal, next up is Croatia and if they win, it could well be Spain up next
Bruno Fernandes also toiled on an underwhelming night for many of the Portugal stars
The blueprint
Much of the Ronaldo narrative in the United States has centred on what he depletes from a major title contender but there are other weaknesses within this Portuguese side.
Based on how Colombia approached the tie, one of the key vulnerabilities could be found in the areas behind Roberto Martinez’s advanced full-backs. The creation of those spaces and the superb manner in which they were exploited by Nestor Lorenzo’s side will offer a blueprint for those awaiting Portugal in the knockouts.
The best examples came in the first period, where Colombia’s wide forwards, James Rodriguez and Luis Diaz, repeatedly baited Nuno Mendes and Joao Cancelo towards halfway, setting in motion a long ball for Jhon Cordobo to chase in the vacated spaces. Simple, sure, but it was deadly and, more worrying for Martinez, it worked over and again.
Cancelo was so badly exposed by those combinations that he was hooked at half-time. Mendes, excellent against the limited forces of Uzbekistan, was also pulled apart at left-back. He had a desperately poor game, highlighted for the umpteenth time when he was shredded by an overlap on his flank an hour in and Richard Rios was a fraction wide of 1-0.
Luis Diaz was lively for Colombia, who will feel unlucky that they didn’t record a win in Miami
Colombian domination
That Rios chance was one of many on the night for Colombia. It is no insult to say they lacked a certain aesthetic appeal, but they were brutally effective. They were strong, direct, relentless in their running and all of that was more impressive for the fact seven of their starters were 30 or older and the Hard Rock Stadium isn’t air-conditioned.
Their use of the long ball has already been discussed, as has the effectiveness of the Rodriguez-Cordoba-Diaz trident, particularly on the counter. Combined it was good for 24 shots to Portugal’s 13, which sounds far closer than the game appeared on the eye.
Barring one period late in the first half when Neves, Fernandes and Ronaldo had chances in the space of two minutes, this match was one-sided.
Remember him?
Despite the offensive onslaught, Colombia’s best man was Davinson Sanchez.
Best known in the UK for an underwhelming spell at Tottenham, he dominated Ronaldo, and when he wasn’t crunching him in the tackle, he was bombing the supply line from Fernandes.
It was an excellent performance and one so nearly capped by a winning goal, only for his strike in stoppage time to be denied by a tiny infraction.
Thousands of Colombia fans packed into the Miami stadium to cheer their team on
Hot ticket
Of the 72 group stage games at the tournament, this one drew the most applications for tickets. Based on the Colombian population in Miami, that isn’t necessarily a surprise, but it was nonetheless extraordinary to see Portuguese fans so outnumbered.
By my guess work, it was somewhere around a 70:30 ratio, with a pleasing amount of Carlos Valderrama wigs.
He was at the game, as it happens, and will be satisfied by the direction his team is headed. Portugal will feel far less comfortable.
