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The final matchday of the group stage of the takes place this Saturday with six matches that will finalize groups J, K, and L, where several top positions and the last direct tickets to the Round of 16 are still up for grabs.
The most exciting match of the day pits Colombia against Portugal at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, in a clash that will determine who leads the Group K at the end of the group stage.
Colombia arrives as the perfect leader with six points after defeating Uzbekistan 3-1 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0 in the first two matches.
The team of Néstor Lorenzo only needs a draw to maintain first place, while Portugal must win if they want to finish in first.
The Portuguese team has accumulated four points after drawing 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their debut and thrashing Uzbekistan 5-0 in the second round, a match in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored a historic double and became the first player to score in six different World Cups.
With those two goals, Ronaldo reached 10 World Cup goals and surpassed Eusébio as Portugal's all-time leading scorer in the tournament.
The coach Roberto Martínez made his ambition clear for this final matchday: "We wanted the group stage to prepare for the second World Cup," the Spanish coach stated on Friday.
In the other match of Group K, the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces Uzbekistan with the obligation to win and hope for a Portuguese defeat to aspire to second place, in addition to significantly improving their goal difference.
Uzbekistan, now out of the tournament after two consecutive defeats, can only hope to say goodbye with a victory.
The Group L is the most open of the day. England and Ghana share the lead with four points each, while Croatia still has chances with three points.
The English team, who defeated Croatia 4-2 in the opening match with a brace from Harry Kane and drew 0-0 with Ghana in the second, will face an already eliminated Panama at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
A victory will secure them first place as long as Ghana does not defeat Croatia; if both teams win, goal difference will be the first tiebreaker.
Ghana, which defeated Panama 1-0 in the opening match, will face a true final against Croatia at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Africans can also finish first if they win and the English do not improve their result.
Croatia, for its part, needs the three points to keep its hopes of advancing alive and even has mathematical chances of taking the lead in the group.
In Group J, Argentina —already qualified with six points— faces Jordan in Dallas, while Austria and Algeria, both with three points, compete for the second ticket at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
This format of the last simultaneous matchday, characteristic of the World Cup expanded to 48 teams, aims to prevent collusion between teams and ensures that all matches are resolved with complete uncertainty regarding the final standings.
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