Colombia’s match against Portugal on Saturday was “practically a home game,” with Miami Stadium “awash in yellow as more than three quarters of the sellout crowd” of 64,478 was rooting for Colombia. Fans showed up as early as 8am ET on Saturday, more than 11 hours before kickoff. 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” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/27). There was “only a smattering of red in a crowd full of Colombia fans,” and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal jersey “made up most of the red around the stadium” (MIAMI HERALD, 6/27).
Among the familiar faces in attendance for Colombia-Portugal 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 was Warriors F Jimmy Butler, musician J Balvin, actor Matt Damon and singers Carin Leon and Camila Cabello (MIAMI HERALD, 6/27).
Meanwhile, Dallas Stadium hosted Argentina-Jordan on Saturday, and Argentina fans “owned this stadium in a way Cowboys owner Jerry Jones only wishes his team could in a major game.” Any visit from a Cowboys “rival of consequence brings out 15,000-20,000 visiting jerseys.” However, Saturday’s match saw the stadium “basically filled with something just shy of 70,000” Lionel Messi jerseys (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/28).