It’s all over. After 15 action-packed matches, the last game of the Round of 16 took place, with Colombia as the main protagonist. The team led by Néstor Lorenzo struck early and, without much trouble, defeated Ghana by the narrowest of margins to secure the 16th spot in the Round of 16.
Just after the match began, the Ghanaians would warn with a long-range shot from Thomas Partey that went just wide. Beyond this chance, what would define the early minutes were the early injuries on both sides: Jhon Córdoba for the South Americans, replaced by Luis Suárez, and Marvin Senaya for the Africans, substituted by Alidu Seidu.
A little later, the coffee growers would quickly recover from this significant loss and open the scoring thanks to a consequence of it. In the 14th minute, Suárez himself would cross for an unmarked Jhon Arias who only had to push it in to make it 1-0.
Although the game would see constant back-and-forth action between both areas with promising chances, neither team would manage to be dangerous for the remainder of the first half, except for a shot by Luis Díaz in the 38th that grazed the left post and a header from Johan Mojica in the 45th that Lawrence Ati-Zigi would barely save.
