Colombia shuts down Ghana to reach World Cup round of 16
· Yahoo Sports
KANSAS CITY, MO — Colombia needed just one chance to dispatch Ghana in the round of 32 on Friday, July 3. Colombia advanced to the next round of the World Cup thanks to a 1-0 victory.
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It’s the first time Colombia has won a knockout match since 2014.
“We created a lot of chances and we didn’t score a lot of them,” Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo said. “I liked how we defended. They all performed quite well.”
Colombia was on the front foot from the beginning. The team’s opening goal in the 14th minute from Jhon Arias proved to be decisive.
Luis Suarez — who came on in the 8th minute due to an injured Jhon Cordoba — delivered a sweet cross from the right wing. Arias was left alone at the back post, powering a shot into the back of the net.
It felt like Colombia would add another goal quickly. But, the South American squad was not able to capitalize on its chances. Colombia finished with 20 total shots, eight of them on goal.
Without opening a large lead, Colombia needed to stick to the basics. The players worked together as a group relentlessly. They defended and counter attacked on Ghana often. The way the team worked together was key in securing the result.
“Football is a team sport,” Lorenzo said. “You have to have a unit as a whole. Our squad has been working on that on the onset.”
Colombia’s defense continues to shine in this tournament. It has allowed just eight shots with zero of them on goal. Ghana struggled to produce any clear-cut chances.
Colombia hasn’t allowed a goal in 300 straight minutes, dating back to Uzbekistan’s goal in the opening game of group play.
Ghana never showed a cutting edge to the game. The team swung cross after cross into the box, but Ghana failed to commit players forward.
“We were chasing the time because we were losing,” left back Gideon Mensah said. “You try to equalize, but it’s not easy.”
Speaking afterwards, tears filled Mensah’s eyes. It was obviously not the result that the team wanted. It was Ghana’s first time making it out of its group since the 2010 World Cup.
“You are not happy when you win a game, especially in the World Cup,” Mensah said. “We play for the people, we play for our families. People are sacrificing their sleep to watch us. We are very proud of our journey. All we can do for the sad people is to make them happy again. We can’t dwell in the sadness forever.”
Colombia will take on Switzerland in the round of 16. It should be a competitive matchup with both teams high on confidence. The game will take place at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 7 in Vancouver.
Should Colombia defeat Switzerland, it will return to Kansas City for a quarterfinal match. Arrowhead Stadium was filled with Colombian supporters and it did not go unnoticed to Lorenzo. Should his team reach the final eight, he knows his team will be backed.
“The passion of the Colombian people, they support us and they support us wherever we go,” Lorenzo said. “We are very grateful for them always.”
Liam Keating covers the World Cup in Kansas City for USA TODAY. He also covers high school sports and Washburn University for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colombia shuts down Ghana to reach World Cup round of 16