Key Points
- Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in the World Cup Round of 32 on July 3 in Kansas City.
- Jhon Arias scored in the 14th minute off a Luis Suárez cross.
- Ghana failed to register a shot on target and exit the tournament.
- Colombia advance to face Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Ghana's 2026 World Cup is over. Colombia beat the Black Stars 1-0 in the Round of 32 on Friday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, riding a 14th-minute goal from Jhon Arias into the last 16, where they will meet Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday for a place in the quarterfinals.
The goal came early and it came against the run of nothing in particular. Colombia lost forward Jhon Córdoba to an early groin injury, and his replacement, Luis Suárez, immediately swung in the cross that Arias guided into the bottom corner for the only score. James Rodríguez made his 10th career World Cup start — a Colombian record — but was pulled at halftime as coach Néstor Lorenzo managed a game his side already controlled.
Ghana never answered. In sweltering Kansas City heat, the Black Stars did not register a single shot on target; goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi kept the margin at one with seven saves. It is a quiet ending to a spirited run. Ghana had survived a brutal group, holding England and Harry Kane to a goalless draw before falling 2-1 to Croatia and advancing anyway.
For Colombia, the shutout is the story. It was their third consecutive clean sheet at the tournament and their first World Cup knockout win since 2014 — the Lorenzo era's defensive identity translating from qualifying into July. The attack managed one goal and a disallowed Luis Díaz strike, which is thin, but a team that does not concede does not need much. Colombia are through to the first 32-team knockout bracket in World Cup history and, for now, look like the harder out. Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday will test whether a side that scores once a game can keep winning that way.
Source: ESPN, Al Jazeera, Sky Sports.
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