MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – This one felt different. And it was different from well before it started, all the way through Portugal and Colombia’s scoreless but eventful draw.At the world’s largest and most expensive edition of its biggest sporting event, the final day of World Cup group play featured a match that had been perhaps its most anticipated, with the highest ticket prices and premium demand.The world had drawn its boldest circle around this fixture from the night it was set at the draw last December. Stars, fellow athletes and political figures were there to catch the show, from Gloria and Emilio Estefan, to Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler, to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FBI Director Kash Patel – just some of the many notable figures who were among the 64,478 in attendance.FIFA sources said there were more than 20 million ticket requests for this match. Ticket prices surged to more than $3,000 early on in the lead-up and held steady right until match day. The average price to this year’s Super Bowl was just north of $2,000. There were tickets well into the five-digit range available for this one. We spoke to one fan who claimed to have spent $16,000 on four hospitality tickets, and he described the price as “not too bad.”Colombia fans hold up images of James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz and Carlos Valderrama (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)Some in attendance were more fortunate than others.“It was luck,” Santiago Foreo, a Colombian fan who won a FIFA lottery for tickets said. “I just applied for one ticket because it was my budget, stuck my credit card details in and then and thank God I got this one. I paid $60.”Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic appWhen asked if he realized that he could have sold it for thousands of dollars, given the going rate, his answer was clear.“You don’t sell the passion for the team! I could have probably got $10,000 but watching Colombia means more than money.”Other fans in attendance seemed almost embarrassed to admit how much they had spent. One couple, Colombian fans who said they lived in the area said they were hesitant to admit how much they had spent because they had been hiding it from their friends and family.“Mucha plata,” the woman said as she smiled and walked away. “Mucho dinero.”Another couple, who said they’d driven 20 hours from New York to attend the match and held a sign saying they had sold their home to be there, said they had spent $3,700 on tickets.Jonathan Bautista and Shana Fuentes hold a sign that says ‘Mom sorry, I sold the house’ outside Miami Stadium. (Photo: The Athletic)“We didn’t really sell our home, but we’ll do anything we can to follow Colombia all the way to the final,” said Shauna Fuentes.Among the Portugal fans in attendance, there were a relatively small but loud group who are following the national team having traveled from abroad, a mixture of Portuguese-Americans, many who traveled from communities in the northeast, from places like New Jersey who also made long 20-plus hour drives to get to the match.