Colombia defeated Ghana 1-0 in the final Round of 16 match of the 2026 World Cup, securing the last place in the quarterfinal lineup. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The match took place on July 4 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The only goal came in the 14th minute from John Arias. This victory sent Colombia to the quarterfinals, where they will face Switzerland on July 8 in Vancouver.

The game started intensely. John Cordoba, the top scorer of the 2025/26 Russian Premier League from Krasnodar, left the field due to injury in the 6th minute. Shortly after, Ghanaian Marvin Senaya from French club Auxerre also suffered an injury that ended his game.

In the 14th minute, Colombia opened the scoring. Luis Suarez, the Sporting Lisbon forward who replaced Cordoba, delivered a cross from the right flank into the box. John Arias of Palmeiras had an easy finish into an almost empty net — 1-0.

In the 39th minute, Luis Diaz should have doubled the lead but shot wide from a promising position. The Bayern Munich forward did score after the break, but French referee Clement Turpin disallowed it for offside.

Ghana's only dangerous shot in the first half came from Villarreal's Thomas Partey from outside the box. Nestor Lorenzo's team controlled the game completely.

The second half followed a similar pattern. All attempts by the Black Stars to equalize were thwarted by Colombia's solid defense. Meanwhile, Los Cafeteros' swift counterattacks kept the Africans from committing too many players forward. As a result, Carlos Queiroz's side goes home, while Colombia continues their journey that began with a win over Uzbekistan.

Results of other Round of 16 matches:

  • 01SOUTH AFRICA – CANADA 0:1, BRAZIL – JAPAN 2:1
  • 02GERMANY – PARAGUAY aet 1:1, pens 3:4, NETHERLANDS – MOROCCO aet 1:1, pens 2:3, IVORY COAST – NORWAY 1:2
  • 03FRANCE – SWEDEN 3:0, MEXICO – ECUADOR 2:0, ENGLAND – DR CONGO 2:1
  • 04BELGIUM – SENEGAL aet 3:2, USA – BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2:0
  • 05SPAIN – AUSTRIA 3:0, PORTUGAL – CROATIA 2:1, SWITZERLAND – ALGERIA 2:0, AUSTRALIA – EGYPT aet 1:1, pens 2:4
  • 06ARGENTINA – CAPE VERDE aet 3:2, COLOMBIA – GHANA 1:0

Quarterfinal pairings: PORTUGAL – SPAIN, USA – BELGIUM, ARGENTINA – EGYPT, COLOMBIA – SWITZERLAND.

The 23rd edition of the World Cup started on June 11. This tournament is the first to be held in three countries — the USA, Canada, and Mexico — and the first to feature 48 teams. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advanced. The 2026 World Cup will conclude on the night of July 19-20 with the final match in New York.