Portugal x Croatia: cheapest ticket costs R$17,000 for the World Cup

Ticket prices on resale platforms soared for the World Cup match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto. The average price of the cheapest ticket exceeded R$17,700 (around US$3,225) at the end of Saturday night (27), according to data from the price monitoring website Ticketdata.

Portugal drew with Colombia in Miami, a result that saw Cristiano Ronaldo's team finish in second place in Group K. Croatia finished second in Group L after defeating Ghana in their last game of the group stage.

Now, Portugal will face Croatia at Toronto Stadium, on July 2, in the round of 32 stage, in a duel that will put Cristiano Ronaldo face to face with his former Real Madrid teammate, Luka Modric.

According to Ticketdata, the average price of the cheapest ticket on secondary resale sites was R$17,700 at 11pm (Eastern Time).

According to the website itself, Ticketdata gathers information from resale platforms such as StubHub and Vivid.

The price more than doubled compared to the period before the start of the match between Portugal and Colombia, highlighting the dynamic pricing system adopted by FIFA in this edition of the tournament.

The system allows prices to vary according to demand - a common practice at concerts and sporting events in the United States - and had already increased group stage resale tickets to values above R$5,500 (around US$1,000).

A previous analysis by Reuters showed that ticket and accommodation prices have made the world's biggest sporting event increasingly accessible only to people with higher incomes, indicating a change in the profile of fans who are able to watch the World Cup in person.

FIFA has advised fans to only use its official resale platform, stating that its ticket resale and exchange market is the only one through which it can guarantee adequate delivery of tickets.

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Source: CNN