FIFA World Cup 2026: Arias strike takes Colombia past Ghana

Colombia reached the last 16 of the World Cup for the third time in their last three appearances at the tournament with a 1-0 win over Ghana.

Nestor Lorenzo’s side will now face Switzerland in Vancouver on July 7, with a place in the quarter-finals, against either Argentina or Egypt, on the line.

An unwanted piece of history was made early on in Kansas City, with both sides forced into changes after injuries to Colombia’s Jhon Cordoba and Ghana’s Marvin Senaya. No World Cup match on record had ever seen both teams make substitutions before the 15th minute.

That did not disrupt the flow of the game, however, and shortly after the second change Colombia struck. Cordoba’s replacement Luis Suarez curled in a cross from the right, which the untracked Jhon Arias – formerly of Wolves – guided home.

They should have added to their lead before the break, but Luis Diaz fired just wide after a rapid counter, before Suarez headed past the opposite post and Johan Mojica’s header was brilliantly clawed away by Lawrence Ati Zigi.

Just before the hour mark, Colombia celebrated a second when Diaz slid in to convert a cross from Crystal Palace’s Jefferson Lerma, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.

Diaz, Davinson Sanchez and Juan Fernando Quintero each had further chances to extend the lead, but against a toothless Ghana attack, that slender advantage never looked under threat. (Skysports)