Ghana’s tottering campaign at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Canada and USA finally grinded to a halt in the wee hours of Saturday after the Black Stars suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia at asweltering Kansas City Stadium.
For the Colombians, it was a ‘sweet’ progression to the World Cup last 16 with a seemingly easier date against Switzerland tomorrow.
Unmarked Jhon Arias’ first-half tap-in 14 minutes into the game remained the solitary goal that plunged Colombia into frenzy, leaving Ghanaians heart-broken, especially the loyal army of fans that stayed late into the night to support the team.
Having emerged from a difficult Group L with a win over Panama, a vital point after holding England before succumbing 1-0 to Croatia, it was obvious the Black Stars would not travel far but definitely not at the Round of 32 stage.
But the team faced that reality check sooner than later, struggling throughout the 90 minutes against a Colombian side that capitalised on Ghana’s defensive frailties and general lack of composure and coordination to snatch the ticket to the next stage.
Eventually, the Black Stars set a terrible record; registering just four shots without a single one on target.
Head Coach Carlos Queiroz accepted it was a poor performance from a side that lacked the experience and maturity required to perform at the top level of the game.
In his post-match interview, he didn’t hide the fact that Ghana failed to display the quality to progress to the next stage of the competition, stating clearly that the Colombians were far better and deserved to remain in the competition.
“Ghana presented a very young team. With this team, we need more experience; specially, we need time for some of the players to mature. When you play in this kind of competition, you need more than enthusiasm; you need maturity to make crucial decisions on the field, to help you to know when to pass and when to make three touches of the ball.”
According to him, the Black Stars did too many things wrong in the face of the quality shown by an aggressive Colombia side that capitalised on the weaknesses of the Black Stars.
“Worse of all was when we play against ourselves. That is something difficult to control. We can control the opponent with good defending, good organisation and good discipline but it’s difficult to control them when we play against ourselves. We played too many back passes that isolate the forwards and lost passes in dangerous situations.”
He stated that “about 90 per cent of Colombia chances came from our mistakes in our midfield.”
He described the game as a very intense, and tough for both teams.
“Colombia started the game as we expect – full speed, a lot of intensity, passing. We tried to answer but unfortunately the goal came too early; it unsettled for us.”
Additionally, Queiroz said “It was a difficult moment for us when we lost the right full back (Senaya).”
“Sadly, it took the replacement (Alidu Seidu) took too long to adjust. The goal came at a time we were trying to reset our game. The Colombians moved the ball better in a more accurate way. They saw our struggle and capitalised on it to score.”
Ghana gave a false hope when Thomas Partey, stationed as a pivot between the back four and a midfield four in a 4-1-4-1 system, came closest for the Black Stars with a fine long-range shot that went inches past the post under a minute.
Unfortunate, both Colombia and Ghana were forced into early substitutions due to injuries under 10 minutes.
Jhon Cordoba had a groin strain and was replaced by Luis Suarez while Ghana lost right-back Marvin Senaya to a hamstring injury.
The name Suarez appears to remain synonymous with pain for Ghanaian football fans after the veteran Luis Suarez denied Ghana a semifinal berth at the 2010 World Cup.
The younger Suarez re-scripted that narrative when he burst down the right to cross for Arias to tap home.
Ghana attempted to fight back but it was Luis Diaz who fired a low shot wide with only Lawrence Zigi to beat while Suarez powered a header off-target from Jefferson Lerma’s cross.
With Ghana’s back against the wall, Ati Zigi was the saviour as he pulled magnificent saves including a dive to scoop Johan Mojica’s header off the line.
In the second half, Gustavo Puerta drew another flying save from Ati-Zigi while Diaz saw a goal ruled out for offside as the Black Stars survived the several forays of the Colombians.
Against the run of play, Partey went close to fetching an equaliser in the 69th minute but missed the target.
They threw more men forward to keep the Colombia area boiling but failed to register any shot of note.
Colombia are now unbeaten in 90 minutes in their past seven World Cup matches, their longest streak ever, and have kept three straight clean sheets.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
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