FIFA World Cup: Colombia through to Round of 16
What's the story
Team Colombia has secured a place in the Round of 16 at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over Ghana at the Kansas City Stadium. The decisive goal was scored by Jhon Arias in the 14th minute, following an assist from Luis Suarez. The win sets up a clash between Colombia and Switzerland on Tuesday in Vancouver.
Match highlights
Colombia dominate the match
Colombia dominated the match, with Ghana's goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi making three crucial saves. Luis Diaz thought he had doubled Colombia's lead in the 56th minute, but his goal was ruled out for offside. Despite their superiority, Colombia couldn't find another goal to secure a more comfortable win against Ghana.
Game strategy
Ghana struggle without Mohammed Kudus
Ghana struggled without Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus, exposing their lack of creativity. Colombia's manager Nestor Lorenzo had to make tactical changes after main striker Jhon Cordoba suffered a suspected hamstring injury in a clash with Jerome Opoku. This forced Suarez into action, who assisted Arias for the winning goal.
Stats
Here are the match stats
From 20 attempts, Colombia recorded eight shots on target. Ghana couldn't manage a solitary strike on target from eight attempts. The winning team had a dominant 62% ball possession in the game. They completed 576 passes with a brilliant 90% accuracy. Ghana's passes count was 349. Their accuracy was 84%.
Information
Clean sheet for Colombia
As per Squawka, Colombia have kept a clean sheet in three consecutive World Cup games for the first time in their history. They've conceded just one goal all tournament, in their first game vs Uzbekistan. Only Mexico and Spain have conceded less (0).