Ghana eliminated from 2026 World Cup after narrow loss to Colombia

Ghana’s hopes of reaching the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to an end after a 1-0 defeat to Colombia at Kansas Stadium on Saturday morning.

Black Stars coach Carlos Queiroz made several surprise changes to his starting line-up, recalling goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi in place of Benjamin Asare, while Derrick Lucassen, who scored Ghana’s consolation goal in the defeat to Croatia, was handed a starting role alongside Jerome Opoku.

Ghana’s suffered an early setback when Marvin Senaya was forced off through injury and replaced by Alidu Seidu, making his first appearance of the tournament.

Colombia capitalised on their bright start when John Arias opened the scoring with a close-range finish that left Ati Zigi with no chance.

The South Americans continued to threaten and nearly doubled their advantage in the 20th minute, but Luis Diaz’s effort was comfortably dealt with by Ati Zigi.

Ghana struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening half, with most of their attempts failing to trouble Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.

The Black Stars enjoyed more possession after the restart and looked to assert themselves, but Colombia remained the more dangerous side on the counterattack.

Diaz squandered a golden opportunity to extend Colombia’s lead midway through the second half, only for Ati Zigi to produce another fine save to keep Ghana in the contest.

Antoine Semenyo tried to inspire a Ghana comeback with several attacking runs, but he found the Colombian defence difficult to break down as the South Americans held firm to secure the victory.

The result sends Colombia through to the Round of 16, where they would face Switzerland, while Ghana bows out of the tournament at the group stage.

Source: GNA