A World Cup group-stage match is pricing like a championship event
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesA single group-stage soccer match is generating resale prices rarely seen outside major championship events — a striking marker of just how much the 2026 World Cup has rattled conventional sports economics.
Colombia vs. Portugal, a Group K showdown scheduled for June 27 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, has seen current resale listings start above $1,100 for the cheapest available seats. That figure reflects a significant cooling from the immediate post-draw spike, when the cheapest available resale ticket surged from under $400 to roughly $2,189 — a 514% jump — within hours of FIFA confirming the Group K matchup.
For context, get-in pricing for Super Bowl LX in February hovered around $4,600 closer to game day, and the average resale ticket for the NFL championship settled at roughly $8,100 according to TicketIQ. The Colombia-Portugal match doesn’t reach those totals, but commands a floor that rivals premium playoff-level events for what remains, on paper, a first-round group game.
The confluence of star power and geography helps explain the frenzy. Colombia’s group-stage finale against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal is expected to be among the most raucous first-round matches of the tournament, with both nations boasting large diaspora communities across South Florida. For Ronaldo, who turns 41 during the tournament, it represents a final chance to claim the one major trophy still missing from his career.
According to SeatPick data, Colombia and Portugal rank second and third among all 48 nations in average group-stage resale price — at $2,273 and $2,169 per match, respectively — trailing only host nation Mexico at $3,965.
The broader tournament has shattered benchmarks across the board. FIFA reported more than 500 million ticket requests submitted during a single sales phase alone, with applications arriving from every country and territory where FIFA’s 211 member associations operate. The final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, per SeatPick tracking, carries an average resale price of $16,094 — what the firm describes as likely the most expensive soccer match ever tracked on the secondary market.
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