Colombia Edge Ghana To Book World Cup Last-16 Clash With Switzerland

Last Updated:July 04, 2026, 12:55 IST

Colombia defeated Ghana 1-0 to seal the final spot in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, with Jhon Arias' early strike enough despite a host of missed chances.

Colombia completed the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 lineup with a controlled 1-0 victory over Ghana on Friday, although Carlos Queiroz’s side were left ruing a host of missed chances after dominating from start to finish.

Jhon Arias’ first-half strike proved enough to send the South Americans through, where they will face Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday. Ghana, meanwhile, exited the tournament after producing a toothless attacking display that saw them fail to register a single shot on target.

Arias Strikes After Early Setback

The match began with Ghana showing early promise as Thomas Partey fired narrowly wide inside the opening minute. However, that proved to be their only real attacking threat of the evening.

Colombia suffered an early blow when striker Jhon Cordoba limped off with an apparent groin injury and was replaced by Luis Suarez. The substitution turned out to be decisive.

Just moments after Ghana were also forced into a change, with Marvin Senaya making way for Alidu Seidu, Suarez raced down the right wing and delivered a teasing cross that found an unmarked Arias, who calmly guided the ball home in the 14th minute.

Colombia Dominate But Fail To Kill Off Contest

Backed by a passionate crowd at Arrowhead Stadium, Colombia controlled possession and repeatedly carved open Ghana’s defence but lacked the finishing touch.

Luis Diaz, fresh off a prolific Bundesliga season with Bayern Munich, squandered the best chance before halftime when he dragged his effort wide. Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi then produced an outstanding save to deny Johan Mojica’s powerful header on the stroke of halftime.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Diaz had a goal ruled out for offside before firing straight at Zigi, while Juan Quintero also came close with a powerful effort that flashed wide.

Despite creating eight shots on target and dominating possession, Colombia had to settle for a slender one-goal victory.

(with AFP inputs)

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Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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