Arias strike sends Colombia past Ghana and into the World Cup last 16

Colombia are through to the last 16 of the World Cup, and they barely had to break sweat to get there. An early Jhon Arias goal was all Nestor Lorenzo’s side needed to beat Ghana 1-0 in the round of 32 at a sweltering Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City overnight, a result that sends Los Cafeteros to Vancouver and ends Ghana’s tournament without them managing a single shot on target.

Suarez off the bench, Arias on the mark

The goal came in the 14th minute, and the man who set it up was not even meant to be on the pitch this early. Jhon Cordoba pulled up with a groin problem inside the opening ten minutes, forcing Lorenzo to send on Luis Suarez as an eighth-minute substitute. Six minutes later Suarez repaid the faith. Daniel Munoz found him on the right, and his low cross across the six-yard box was turned home by Arias, who had timed his run to perfection and beat goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi from close range.

It was the kind of early blow Ghana never recovered from. Colombia settled quickly after that, happy to keep the ball and slow the tempo in the heat while picking their moments to push forward. For all of Ghana’s endeavour, they could not find a way through a Colombian defence that gave them nothing to work with.

One-sided in everything but the scoreline

The 1-0 result flattered Ghana. Colombia had 61 percent of the ball and piled up 20 attempts, eight of them on target, against a Ghana side that finished with eight shots and not one that troubled the goalkeeper. Colombia’s expected goals figure of 2.19 was their highest in a World Cup knockout match since 1966, a measure of how many good chances they created and failed to convert.

Ati-Zigi kept the margin down at the other end. The Ghana goalkeeper produced a sprawling stop to deny Luis Diaz a second and reacted sharply to keep out a Johan Mojica effort, sparing his side a heavier defeat on a night when they never really threatened. Ghana went a full match without a shot on target, and their World Cup ends at the hands of South American opposition once again.

Switzerland next in Vancouver

Colombia will now travel to British Columbia to face Switzerland on Tuesday, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. The Swiss edged past Algeria in their own round-of-32 tie, and Lorenzo’s team will fancy their chances against them on this evidence. Colombia have looked organised and hard to break down, and in Diaz and Arias they carry the sort of attacking threat that can decide a tight knockout tie.

For a side that topped a tricky group containing Portugal, another clean sheet and a comfortable passage into the last 16 will do plenty for the belief inside the camp. The heat in Kansas City made it a grind, but Colombia handled it with the calm of a team that fancies a deep run.

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