A 14th-minute strike by Jhon Arias ensured that Colombia get the final ticket to the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
The strike by the Brazil-based midfielder was the differentiator in the last Round of 32 game of the tournament.
The Black Stars were seeking to add up to Africa’s numbers in the next round of the competition hours after Egypt had beaten Australia on penalties to join Morocco.
In between Egypt’s triumph and Ghana’s game, Cape Verde narrowly missed the opportunity to reach that stage, stretching champions Argentina to extra time in a game that finished 3-2 in favour of the champions.
The match at Kansas City Stadium was the first meeting of the two sides at the senior level with Colombia coming into the game unbeaten thus far.
The Black Stars have had their fortunes dwindle after drawing and losing to England and Croatia respectively following their 1-0 opening win over Panama.
After a strong start, which saw Colombia’s daredevil striker Jhon Cordoba substituted for a hamstring, the Black Stars crumbled.
Arias took advantage of being left unmarked in the penalty area to put the ball at the wrong side of goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who returned to the starting line-up after missing the last two games.
Los Cafeteros never looked back as they protected that lone goal.
They continued the attack against the Black Stars, who could not string any long passes together.
Bayern Munich’s Luiz Díaz found the back of the net but the goal was ruled out as offside by French referee Clement Turpin.
The Black Stars failed to make any meaningful attack to find the equaliser as the match ended 1-0 in favour of the South Americans.
They progress to face Switzerland in the Round of 16.
