Colombia vs Ghana
Ghana sneaked into the World Cup 2026 Round of 32 as one of the best third-place finishers, and Carlos Queiroz’s men will face Colombia at Kansas City Stadium on Friday, with the winner taking on either Switzerland or Algeria in the Round of 16.
The Black Stars reached this far despite not producing numerous World Cup 2026 highlights in Group L, but they will live with it as long as they get the job done. After beating Panama 1-0 in their opener, they famously held England to a goalless draw before losing 2-1 to Croatia in their last group-stage contest.
Meanwhile, Colombia were impressive in the group stage, picking up seven points from their three matches to finish at the top of Group K, with wins over Uzbekistan (3-1) and DR Congo (1-0) before their entertaining draw against Portugal.
Learn more about these two nations, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Talking Points
Munoz gives Colombia a different dynamic
With Ghana expected to implement a compact block, Colombia must use their width to open up the Black Stars’ defence, and head coach Nestor Lorenzo will rely on Daniel Munoz to do just that on Friday.
The Crystal Palace full-back is Los Cafeteros’ unlikely leading scorer in this year’s finals, contributing two goals. Munoz opened the scoring against Uzbekistan and scored the match-winner against DR Congo, using his overlapping runs and late arrivals into the box. Lorenzo inexplicably rotated Munoz in their goalless draw against Portugal, which they would’ve won if he had started over Santiago Arias (who was eventually benched anyway).
Luis Diaz is another dangerous customer for Colombia because of his trickery and ability to beat any defender. After contributing 15 goals and 14 assists for Bayern Munich this past season, Diaz only has one goal in the World Cup thus far. He will link up with James Rodriguez, Luis Suarez, and Jhon Arias in the final third against Ghana.
LoS Cafeteros don’t have any reported injury concerns ahead of this match, so they should go full force against Ghana. If they could replicate their effort against Portugal last time out, they should be fine.
Semenyo has to start firing for Ghana
Ghana finished third in Group L after scoring only two goals and conceding two. Caleb Yirenkyi scored a stoppage-time winner against minnows Panama, while Derrick Luckassen scored a consolation goal in their loss against Croatia.
It’s weird not seeing Antoine Semenyo on the scoresheet after he produced 17 goals and four assists in the Premier League (for Bournemouth and Manchester City) this past season, so we expect him to be ultra-aggressive in the final third on Friday. According to reports, Semenyo is dealing with a minor ankle injury.
The Black Stars will also need production from Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana, and Thomas Partey. Meanwhile, Benjamin Asare is likely to continue between the sticks, with Lawrence Ati Zigi still injured.
History
Friday marks the first-ever competitive encounter between Colombia and Ghana, and head coach Carlos Queiroz is a familiar face for both nations. Before taking the Ghana job, the Portuguese boss managed Colombia from 2019 to 2020 and left after heavy World Cup qualifying losses against Uruguay and Ecuador.
In terms of recent form, Colombia have the significant edge with four wins and one draw from their last five games, while Ghana have won only once during the same stretch (D2, L2).
Colombia have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2014 and were present in the Round of 16 in 2018, but Los Cafeteros failed to qualify for the 2022 edition of the finals. On the other hand, Ghana reached the Round of 16 in 2006 and the quarter-finals in 2010.
Betting Tip
The World Cup 2026 odds predict Colombia to have their way against Ghana on Friday. Los Cafeteros are 1.50 favourites to advance, whereas the Black Stars are huge 7.00 underdogs, and a draw after 90 minutes is at 3.93 in the 1X2 market.
However, we feel that this game will be closer than expected, especially since Ghana are keen to make this ugly to stand a chance. An odd goal could be enough for Colombia to win the contest, so besides our recommended bet, bettors can also go for Under 2.50 at 1.68, Under 2.25 at 1.91, Under 2.00 at 2.20, Under 1.75 at 2.63, and even Total Goal 0-1 at 2.85 to the parlay.
Moreover, any Correct Score that’s in favour of Ghana yields a whopping payout of at least 14.00 your bet.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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