With four points from two games, Ghana are guaranteed a place in the Round of 32 in the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
What’s left to be determined is what position the team will qualify to the knock-out stage with. This will depend largely on results in the final group game against Croatia on Saturday and sparingly on result of the England-Panama clash, which will be played concurrently as per regulations of the FIFA World Cup.
But what are the likely scenarios and which opponents will Ghana come against after Saturday’s game?
Loss to Croatia
Let’s work with the unlikely and unwanted result of a loss. This will see the Black Stars finish third in Group L without recourse to results in the England-Panama game unless the eliminated Concacaf side beat the 1966 champions by at least three unanswered goals or a three-goal margin. This is not likely to happen but in football anything can happen. In this situation, Ghana will meet the winner of Group K, comprising Colombia, Portugal, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. The first two in that group will clash later on Saturday for this bragging rights. Already, the South Americans are in pole position and can only lose grip if they lose to the Cristiano Ronaldo-led side.
It is worthy of note that Ghana can also place second with a loss to Croatia if Panama beat England by a wider margin than first mentioned earlier in this piece. This is, however, highly unlikely.
Draw with Croatia
A draw against the 2018 finalists will see the Black Stars securing a first place – if England lose to Panama – or a second place, more likely to happen. If the Three Lions also draw, they are still guaranteed the top spot. In this case, Ghana will face the second-placed side in Group K. This, undoubtedly, will also be between Portugal and Colombia, but DR Congo as well in an unlikely turn-out of events in Group K; that is the Leopards beating Uzbekistan by a wide margin and Portugal losing heavily to Colombia.
Win over Croatia
What the Black Stars are expected to do in Philadelphia on Saturday is to clinch a much-needed win. If this happens, a second place is guaranteed. A first-place finish can also be secured if England lose or draw. A win for Ghana and a win for England will see the latter top the group, leaving Ghana to face either Portugal or Colombia (or DR Congo in an unlikely turn of events in Group K). But if the Black Stars win and the Three Lions draw or lose, the Round of 32 clash will be against the third-placed side in either this same Group K or Group E (Ecuador, Ivory Coast or Curacao in that order of likelihood) or Group H (Spain, Uruguay, Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia) or Group I (Senegal or Iraq which is highly unlikely) or Group J (Austria or Algeria).
With all these permutations, the most realistic is Ghana playing a team in Group K. This will, therefore, see the Black Stars face either Portugal for the third time in the history of the FIFA World Cup or Colombia.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh
The writer is the Head of Sports at Onua TV/FM and leads in-house production of the 2026 FIFA World Cup broadcast by the two stations.
