Portugal will face its toughest opponent in the final match of Group K when they meet Colombia at Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida, United States.
Both Colombia and Portugal secured their places in the round of 32. Colombia leads the standings with six points, while Portugal has four.
Colombia, which has already collected six points, tends to rest its main squad, while Portugal is trying to gain prestige as a top world team.
If either of them finish as group winners, then they will face the next ranked team in Group E , or I (Senegal), or L, which will likely be occupied by Ghana or Croatia.
g has the potential to be occupied by Ghana or Croatia.
However, if they finish as runners-up, they will face the runners-up of Group L, which is also likely to be Ghana or Croatia.
As one of the favorites to win the world title, Portugal isn't too concerned about who they'll face in the round of 32. What's more important for the Selecao is continuing to demonstrate their potential as a strong contender for the title.
Therefore, Portugal is expected to play more determinedly to secure victory, despite the possibility of rotating players. With the depth of their squad, Roberto Martinez's team is expected to experience no significant drop in quality even if several regular starters are rested.
Martinez will likely use this match as a barometer to gauge his team's true quality ahead of the knockout stages.
Colombia is a worthy benchmark for Portugal. Besides sweeping the first two matches with wins and a 4-1 aggregate scoreline, Los Cafeteros also played the attacking football characteristic of strong teams at the World Cup.
In their previous two matches in Group K, Nestor Lorenzo's team created 35 goal-scoring opportunities, 13 of which were on target.
That figure surpassed Portugal's 24 chances, with 10 on target. Portugal averaged 70.5 percent possession, while Colombia's 66.5 percent.
Colombia also serves as a sparring partner , as it can test the strength of the Selecao's defense, which hasn't been fully tested in the previous two matches.
