🇨🇴 Colombia vs 🇵🇹 Portugal

Colombia finished second at the 2024 Copa América, beating Brazil along the way. They come into this tournament with real momentum and a squad full of players performing at the highest level in Europe. They tend to get overlooked and then cause problems.

Luis Díaz from Liverpool is arguably their best player — one of the most direct and unpredictable wide players in the world. When he's on form he is genuinely unplayable. If Colombia do well, he'll be the reason.

James Rodríguez, now 33, is still involved and still the creative heartbeat. His partnership with younger players like Díaz gives Colombia genuine quality at both ends. He's the kind of player who can unlock tight games with one pass.

They're in Group K with Portugal, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. Portugal are heavy favourites to top the group, but Colombia are the team most capable of upsetting that expectation. Second place from this group is a realistic and valuable outcome.

Colombia's football culture is deep and passionate — the game is central to national identity in a way that's hard to overstate. Their fans travel in enormous numbers and are known for their noise. Worth knowing if you end up in a pub with Colombians.

Cristiano Ronaldo is at his sixth World Cup at 41, matching Messi's record. He is by some distance the oldest outfield player at the tournament. He has never won a World Cup. Messi has. This fact clearly motivates him every single day.

Portugal's squad beyond Ronaldo is genuinely talented — Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão — and there's a reasonable argument that they'd actually be stronger if Ronaldo played less. This is deeply controversial to say out loud near a Portuguese fan.

They're in Group K with DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia. Colombia are good and could cause problems, but Portugal should progress. The knockout rounds are where their real tournament begins, and where Ronaldo's influence either becomes decisive or a liability.

Portugal have never won a World Cup. Their best finish was third in 1966 when Eusébio was top scorer. For all the world-class players they've produced since then, they've never quite gone the distance.

Manager Roberto Martínez took Belgium to the top of the world rankings without winning a major trophy. He's now got Portugal. Whether he can take the final step is the question that defines the next few weeks.