KANSAS CITY.- With a solitary goal from Jhon Arias, Colombia defeated Ghana 1-0 this Friday in Kansas City and reached the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, in which they will clash against Switzerland.
Jhon Arias’ goal in the 14th minute materialized the extensive dominance of Colombia, which left its figure James Rodríguez on the bench at half-time.
This victory for Colombia, which will travel to Vancouver to face Switzerland on Tuesday, closed the round of 32 of the World Cup in North America.
The Colombian squad did not go through an ordeal like that of Argentina to beat Cape Verde (3-2) in the previous match, but it did not shake off the tension until the final whistle.
Colombia soon got the victory back on track against a disappointing Ghana, which was not helped by the experience on the bench of Carlos Queiroz, former Colombia coach between 2019 and 2020.
Néstor Lorenzo’s current pupils had the ball and the best opportunities to increase the advantage despite a lackluster night from James Rodríguez, with a serious face after the victory, and the lack of fortune in front of the goal of an incisive Luis Díaz.
Ghana approached the duel with enormous respect for Colombia, leader of its group ahead of Portugal, waiting for some mistake that would allow it to launch its fast attackers.
But Antoine Semenyo and Iñaki Williams, forwards for Manchester City and Athletic Bilbao, also showed no match for a Ghana that did not have a single shot on target.
The African squad thus had a gray farewell in its first appearance in the qualifiers since 2010 while Colombia celebrated its return to the round of 16 after its painful absence from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In Russia 2018 the coffee squad lost in that phase to England on penalties and in Brazil 2014 they advanced to the quarterfinals in their best World Cup run.
– Two injuries in 13 minutes –
Under heat that was still around 30º Celsius, the game experienced an intense first quarter of an hour with two injured players and the first Colombian goal.
Jhon Córdoba, the one chosen by Lorenzo for the attack point, was the first to fall after injuring his groin after a struggle with Jerome Opoku.
The attacker was relieved by Luis Suárez in the eighth minute and just five minutes later the Ghanaian Marvin Senaya took the same path, having just knocked down Luis Díaz in the area in an action that the referee did not consider a penalty.
Díaz scored on the left wing, but the first goal came from the other side in an individual action by Luis Suárez.
The newcomer went to the baseline and sent a cross to the far post that found Arias unopposed so he could finish at will with the first touch.
The goal made the stands of Arrowhead Stadium vibrate, completely dyed in the yellow color that both teams share, the almost absolute majority were Colombian fans.
The goal led the South American squad to slow down after the first hydration break.
James Rodríguez, without spark and displaced from the center of the field, participated little in the creation of the game against a Ghana completely protected around their goal.
By the time their attackers Antoine Semenyo or Iñaki Williams stepped onto the rival field, Colombia was already perfectly retreated.
– James, substituted at half-time –
Although Colombia had the duel under control, Lorenzo replaced James Rodríguez early and introduced Richard Ríos to support Gustavo Puerta, Colombian relief in this tournament, in midfield.
In the 56th minute, Colombia seemed to have found the goal of peace when Díaz launched himself onto the grass in the small area to finish a low cross into the net.
The goal was celebrated effusively by the Bayern Munich winger, and in the stands by the Colombian icon René Higuita, but it was disallowed for offside.
Although Dávinson Sánchez and Juan Quintero also came close to scoring, Colombia never gave up control of the match until the final explosion of happiness from the stands.
