07/03/26 10:43:00
Printable Page
07/03 22:41 CDT Jhon Arias scores and Colombia beats Ghana 1-0 to reach the
World Cup Round of 16
Jhon Arias scores and Colombia beats Ghana 1-0 to reach the World Cup Round of
16
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Jhon Arias scored off a sharp cross from Luis Surez
in the opening minutes, and Colombia controlled Ghana on a sweltering night at
Arrowhead Stadium, allowing Los Cafeteros to advance to the Round of 16 at the
World Cup with a 1-0 victory Friday night.
Colombia will play Switzerland on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a
spot in the quarterfinals.
The game was just minutes old when Colombia forward Jhon Crdoba appeared to
hurt his groin, forcing coach Nstor Lorenzo to bring Surez --- the standout
from Sporting CP, not the Inter Miami star of the same name --- off the bench
as an early substitute.
He factored into the game immediately: In the 14th minute, Daniel Muoz played
a ball to Surez, who sent it across the front of the goal, where Arias was
waiting to flick it past Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi for a 1-0 lead.
Los Cafeteros thought they had doubled their lead in the 56th minute, when Luis
Daz found the back of the net only to see the offside flag raised, and the
fleet-footed Colombia forward had a point-blank shot saved by Zigi a few
minutes later.
Zigi wound up making seven saves to keep Ghana in the game.
It was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 Celsius) with a heat index of 96 when the
game kicked off at 8:30 p.m. local time, the late start intentional due to the
expected heat of Midwestern summers. The hydration breaks that have been
controversial in so many matches suddenly became a blessing as players from
both sides fought through dehydration and cramps.
Colombia had breezed through the group stage, conceding only a single goal in
wins over Uzbekistan and Congo and a draw with Portugal. Los Cafeteros had been
so impressive that Spain coach Luis de la Fuente --- whose own team is
considered among the tournament favorites --- tapped them as "a candidate to
win the World Cup."
Their fans certainly believe in them.
The home of the NFL's Chiefs has three levels of seats with a band of yellow
ones sandwiched between red. Yet the entire bowl of the stadium just east of
downtown Kansas City was awash in the vibrant yellow of Colombia some 2 hours
before kickoff.
Ghana knew it would be an underdog. Yet the team that failed to qualify for the
Africa Cup of Nations last year for the first time in nearly two decades had
already answered plenty of critics by surviving a difficult group topped by
England and Croatia.
The question as it faced Colombia: Could Ghana mount enough offense?
As expected, Los Cafeteros dominated the ball --- the Black Stars had possessed
it just 36.1% of the time in the group stage, second-least of any team that
advanced, and those offensive issues continued against Colombia. Even when
Ghana managed to put together an attack, Colombia was there to quickly counter
with the speed of Surez, Daz and its midfielders.
Ghana wound up taking eight shots. None of them were on goal.
___
See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
|
