Racing
League
Rugby
Football
Cricket
Golf
Sport Nation
Olympics
Motorsport
Netball
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
FWC: PAR v FRA live from 8amDark horses Colombia complete round of 16 lineup
AP • July 4th, 2026 4:47 pm
Colombia's Jhon Arias (11) celebrates his goal against Ghana that sent his team to the round of 16 | Photo: AP
Jhon Arias has scored early off a sharp cross from Luis Suarez and Colombia controlled Ghana on a sweltering night, allowing Los Cafeteros to advance to the World Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 victory in Kansas City.
Colombia will play Switzerland on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a spot in the quarter-finals.
The game was just minutes old when Colombia forward Jhon Córdoba appeared to hurt his groin, forcing coach Néstor Lorenzo to bring Suarez off the bench as an early substitute.
He factored into the game immediately: In the 14th minute, Daniel Munoz played a ball to Suarez, who sent it across the front of the goal, where Arias was waiting to flick it past Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi for a 1-0 lead.
Jhon Arias (r) is hailed by teammates and jubilant Colombia fans after scoring his goal | Photo: AP
Colombia thought they had doubled their lead in the 56th minute, when Luis Díaz found the back of the net only to see the offside flag raised, and the fleet-footed forward had a point-blank shot saved by Zigi a few minutes later.
Zigi wound up making seven saves to keep Ghana in the game.
It was 31 degrees Celsius with a heat index of 96 when the game kicked off at Arrowhead Stadium at 8.30pm and te hydration breaks became a blessing as players from both sides fought through dehydration and cramps.
Luis Diaz's celebrations proved premature when his goal was disallowed for offside | Photo: AP
Colombia had breezed through the group stage, conceding only a single goal in wins over Uzbekistan and Congo and a draw with Portugal. Los Cafeteros had been so impressive that Spain coach Luis de la Fuente - whose own team is considered among the tournament favourites - tapped them as "a candidate to win the World Cup."
Their fans certainly believe in them and the stadium was awash in the vibrant yellow of Colombia.
Substitute Luis Suarez (l) was a valuable early addition for Colombia | Photo: AP
Ghana knew they would be an underdog. Yet the team that failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations last year for the first time in nearly two decades had already answered plenty of critics by surviving a difficult group topped by England and Croatia.
The question as they faced Colombia: Could Ghana mount enough offence?
As expected, Los Cafeteros dominated the ball — the Black Stars had possession it just 36.1 per cent of the time in the group stage, second-least of any team that advanced, and those offensive issues continued against Colombia.
Even when Ghana managed to put together an attack, Colombia were there to quickly counter with the speed of Suárez, Díaz and their midfielders.
Ghana wound up taking eight shots. None of them were on goal.
