The World Cup round of 32 ends with Colombia beating Ghana 1-0, as Jhon Arias sends the South Americans through.By ReutersPublished On 4 Jul 20264 Jul 2026Jhon Arias scored the only goal as Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in sweltering conditions in Kansas City on Friday to reach the World Cup round of 16, continuing a quietly impressive campaign that has established them as dangerous outsiders.Arias struck in the 14th minute, guiding home a cross from substitute Luis Suarez, and Colombia’s disciplined defence did the rest as Nestor Lorenzo’s side extended their unbeaten run and booked a meeting with Switzerland in the next round.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listColombia had largely flown under the radar at the tournament, despite going undefeated against Portugal, Uzbekistan and DR Congo to top Group K. Colombia’s midfielder #11 Jhon Arias celebrates scoring his goal, which sealed a spot in the last-16 [Juan Mabromata/AFP]Their breakthrough on Friday came from two players who had not been expected to combine, as Suarez, thrust into action after Jhon Cordoba was forced off with an apparent groin injury in the eighth minute, delivered a pinpoint cross to the back post where Arias had somehow drifted unmarked.With time and space to pick his spot, Arias calmly guided the ball into the bottom corner to hand his side a deserved lead.The stadium felt more like Barranquilla than Kansas City as tens of thousands of Colombia supporters turned the clash with Ghana – a team ranked 60 places behind them – into a de facto home game, giving the South Americans a level of support rarely seen so far from home. Colombia fans celebrate after the match as their team qualified for the round of 16 [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]The stands were a writhing, dancing sea of yellow jerseys, twirling scarves and black-and-white sombrero vueltiao hats, that many used to fan their faces in the oppressive 30-degree Celsius (86-degree Fahrenheit) heat. Advertisement They bounced in unison, roared their team forward with every attack, and regularly broke into chants of “ …
