2026 FIFA WORLD CUP  PREVIEW: COLOMBIA WILL BATTLE IT OUT WITH GHANA FOR ONE OF THE ROUND OF 16 SPOT

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike) 

Predictions: Away win/draw

• The Coffee Growers of Colombia welcome the Black Stars of Ghana to the Kansas City Stadium, Missouri, USA, for a Round 32 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in a thrilling encounter. 

• Head-to-Head

• Colombia and Ghana's encounter at the Round of 32 stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be their official first-ever meeting between them. 

• Recent Performance:

• Colombia's Recent Performance:

• Colombia played out a 0-0 against Portugal in their Group K match on Day 3 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 27 at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA, extending their unbeaten streak to five in all competitions.

• In their last six games in all competitions, they have four wins, one draw and one loss. Colombia have scored ten (10) and conceded five (5) in those games. Scoring first in four of the six contests. They had four first-half goals, while their opponents netted three times in the first 45 minutes. 

• Ghana's Recent Performance:

• The Black Stars of Ghana have won one, drawn two, and lost three in their last six games in all competitions. Ghana scored four and conceded 7 over that period, netting first in two of the six. All of their goals came after halftime, while their opponents scored three times before the break.

• Ghana lost 2-1 to Croatia in their Group L match on Day 3 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 27 at the Philadelphia Stadium in the USA.

• There have been 249 goals scored in 85 matches for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, for an average of 2.93 goals per match (as of July 2, 2026).

• The trio of Daniel Munoz scoring twice, Luis Diaz, and Jaminton Campaz has scored 1 goal each in Colombia's four goals so far in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Caleb Yirenkyi and Derrick Luckassen have scored 1 goal each for Ghana in this season's World Cup.

• Asamoah Gyan of Ghana is the all-time Africa's leading goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup with 6 goals, and Ismaila Sarr of Senegal is currently on five goals, and Morocco's Ishmael Saibari is on 3 goals. 

• Match Facts:

• Los Cafeteros/The Coffee Growers of Colombia are ranked 13th by the latest FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 3rd in July - August 2013, September 2014 - March 2015, and June - August 2016.

• Their first international game was February 17, 1926 (Colombia 4-1 Costa Rica) in Barranquilla, Colombia.

• The Black Stars of Ghana are ranked 73rd in the FIFA rankings (June 11, 2026), but their highest was 14th in April - May 2007, and February 2008.

• Their first international game was May 28, 1950 (Gold Coast and British Togoland 1-0 Nigeria) in Accra, British Gold Coast.

• Player Records:

• Colombia's most-capped player: David Ospina Ramirez [GK] (130 caps, 0 goals).

• Ghana's most-capped player: Jordan Pierre Ayew (123 caps, 34 goals).

• Colombia's all-time top scorer: Radamel Falcao (36 goals, 104 caps).

• Ghana's all-time top scorer: Asamoah Gyan (51 goals, 109 caps).

• Team Information:

• Colombia is located in South America and is part of the CONMEBOL Confederation.

• Ghana is located in Africa and is part of the WAFU Confederation.

• The Colombian Football Federation was founded in 1924 and joined both FIFA and CONMEBOL in 1936.

• The Ghana Football Association (GFA) was founded in 1957 and became affiliated with FIFA in 1958 and CAF in 1960.

• The GFA made history by becoming the first African association to connect to the FIFA Connect Platform, a system designed to register and track players and officials globally.

• The Coffee Growers of Colombia first appeared at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and were eliminated at the group stages.

• The first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for the Colombia national team is Francisco Zuluaga [Capt] 19' (pen) in a 2-1 loss to Uruguay on May 30, 1962, at Estadio Carlos Dittborn, Arica in Chile.

• Colombia recorded their first-ever win at the FIFA World Cup on June 9, 1990, in a Group D fixture on Match Day 1 against United Arab Emirates (0-2) courtesy of Bernardo Redin and Carlos Valderrama on the 50th and 85th minutes respectively at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna in Italy.

• Colombia qualified for the knock-out stages for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup as one of the best Third-place teams alongside Argentina, the Netherlands, and Uruguay in the 1990 edition.

• The 2026 edition of the tournament marks Colombia's 7th appearance at the FIFA World Cup (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2014, 2018, 2026).

• In the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil, Colombia achieved its best World Cup performance yet, reaching the quarter-finals and placing fifth in the final standings.

• Colombia finished on top of Group K of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a group that comprises Portugal, DR Congo, and Uzbekistan.

• In the 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Colombia finished on top of Group C that had Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan.

• Similarly, in the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Colombia finished on top of Group H, which comprised Japan, Senegal and Poland.

• Ghana's first appearance at the FIFA World Cup tournament was the 2006 edition held in Germany, and Brazil eliminated them at the Round of 16 stage.

• The first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for the Ghana national team is Asamoah Gyan 2' in a 2-0 scoreline against the Czech Republic, and that was the Black Stars' first-ever win in the competition's history on June 17, 2006, at Rhein Energie Stadion, Cologne in Germany. 

• Ghana's best performance in the World Cup tournament was reaching the Quarter-finals in 2010 in South Africa.

• Ghana qualified for the knock-out stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as one of the best Third-place teams alongside DR Congo, Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Algeria, Paraguay, and Senegal.

• The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup is the third time the Black Stars of Ghana have qualified for the knock-out stages (2006, 2010, 2026).

• Jordan Pierre Ayew is the fifth captain to have led Ghana to the FIFA World Cup tournament:
• Stephen Appiah (2006 in Germany)
• John Mensah (2010 in South Africa)
• Asamoah Gyan (2014 in Brazil)
• Andre Dede Ayew (2022 in Qatar)
• Jordan Pierre Ayew (2026 in Mexico, Canada and United States).

• Jordan Ayew is the third captain to have led Ghana to the knock-out stages of the FIFA World Cup after Stephen Appiah in Germany 2006 and John Mensah in South Africa 2010.

• Before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ghana had kept two (2) clean sheets in 15 games in the competition, but in the 2026 edition, Ghana have kept 2 clean sheets already after 3 games in the group stages.

• Additional Facts:

• Colombia have won once and lost three in their previous knock-out stage games at the FIFA World Cup: 
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia a.e.t. (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
• 28/06/2014 Colombia   2-0 Uruguay (Round of 16) [2014 World Cup]
• 04/07/2014 Brazil          2-1 Colombia (Quarter-finals) [2014 World Cup]
• 03/07/2018 Colombia   1-1 England a.e.t. 3-4p (Round of 16) [2018 World Cup]

• Colombia have scored in each of their previous knock-out stage games at the FIFA World Cup (scoring 5 goals in 4 games).

• Ghana have won once and lost two in their previous knock-out stage games at the FIFA World Cup:
• 27/06/2006 Brazil               3-0 Ghana (Round of 16) [2006 World Cup]
• 26/06/2010 United States 1-2 Ghana a e.t. (Round of 16) [2010 World Cup]
• 02/07/2010 Uruguay          1-1 Ghana a.e.t. 4-2p (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]

• Ghana have conceded in each of their previous knock-out stage games at the FIFA World Cup (conceding 5 goals in 3 games).

• Colombia lost their only previous knock-out stage game at the FIFA World Cup against African opposition:
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia a.e.t. (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup] 
Roger Milla (brace) 106', 108'//Bernardo Redin 115'

• Ghana have lost all their previous knock-out stage games against South American opponents at the FIFA World Cup:
• 27/06/06 Brazil           3-0 Ghana (Round of 16) [2006 World Cup]
• 02/07/2010 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana a.e.t. 4-2p (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]

• Colombia against African opponents at the FIFA World Cup (W4 L1 GF6 GA3):
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia a.e.t (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
• 22/06/1998 Colombia   1-0 Tunisia (Group Stage) [1998 World Cup]
• 19/06/2014 Colombia   2-1 Ivory Coast (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
• 28/06/2018 Senegal      0-1 Colombia (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
• 23/06/2026 Colombia   1-0 DR Congo (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]

• Colombia have scored in each of their previous games against African opponents at the FIFA World Cup (scoring 6 goals in 5 games).

• The Colombia vs Ghana game also represents the Coffee Growers' sixth African opponent at the FIFA World Cup (after Cameroon, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Senegal and DR Congo).

• Ghana against South American opponents at the FIFA World Cup (D1 L2 GF1 GA6).

• 27/06/2006 Brazil       3-0 Ghana (Round of 16) [2006 World Cup]
Ronaldo 5', Adriano 45+1', Ze Roberto 84'

• 02/07/2010 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana a.e.t. 4-2p (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]
Diego Forlan 55'//Sulley Ali Muntari 45+2'

• 02/12/2022 Ghana   0-2 Uruguay (Group stage) [2022 World Cup]
De Arrascaeta (brace) 26', 32'

• Colombia lost their only previous knock-out stage game at the FIFA World Cup against African opposition:
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia a.e.t. (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
Roger Milla (brace) 106', 108'//Bernardo Redin 115'

• Ghana are chasing their first knock-out win at the FIFA World Cup games against South American opponents (L2 GF1 GA4):
• 27/06/2006 Brazil    3-0 Ghana (Round of 16) [2006 World Cup]
• 02/07/2010 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]

• Ghana have conceded in each of their previous knock-out stage games against South American opponents at the FIFA World Cup (conceding 4 goals in 2 games). 

• Two nations' FIFA World Cup games in July:

• Colombia are without a win in their previous FIFA World Cup games in July:
• 04/07/2014 Brazil        2-1 Colombia (Quarter-finals) [2014 World Cup]
• 03/07/2018 Colombia 1-1 England a.e.t. 3-4p (Round of 16) [2018 World Cup]

• Colombia have scored and conceded in each of their previous games played in July at the FIFA World Cup tournament (scoring 2 and conceding 3).

• Ghana's only previous FIFA World Cup game played in July was against a South American opponent:
• 02/07/2010 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana a.e.t. 4-2p (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]

• Black Stars of Ghana scored and conceded in their only previous game played in July at the FIFA World Cup (scoring 1 and conceding 1).

• Two nations' FIFA World Cup games on July 4:

• Colombia lost their only previous game at the FIFA World Cup on July 4, and it happened at the knock-out stages of the tournament:
• 04/07/2014 Brazil    2-1 Colombia (Quarter-finals) [2014 World Cup]

• Ghana's encounter with Colombia will be the Black Stars of Ghana's first game at the FIFA World Cup on July 4.

• Two nations' FIFA World Cup games on Saturday:

• Colombia's previous FIFA World Cup games played on Saturday (W3 L3 GF10 GA7): 
• 30/05/1962 Uruguay 2-1 Colombia (Group Stage) [1962 World Cup]
• 09/06/1990 United Arab Emirates 0-2 Colombia (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia a.e.t. (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
• 18/06/1994 Colombia 1-3 Romania (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
• 14/06/2014 Colombia 3-0 Greece (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
• 28/06/2014 Colombia 2-0 Uruguay (Round of 16) [2014 World Cup]

• Colombia have scored in each of their previous FIFA World Cup games played on Saturday (scoring 10 goals in 6 games).

• Colombia lost their only previous FIFA World Cup game against an African opponent on Saturday:
• 23/06/1990 Cameroon 2-1 Colombia (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
Roger Milla (brace) 106, 108'//Bernardo Redin 115'
Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)

• Ghana have lost once in their previous FIFA World Cup games on Saturday (W2 D2 L1 GF8 GA6): 
• 17/06/2006 Czech Republic 0-2 Ghana (Group Stage) [2006 World Cup]
• 19/06/2010 Ghana                 1-1 Australia (Group Stage) [2010 World Cup]
• 26/06/2010 United States    1-2 Ghana (Round of 16) [2010 World Cup]
• 21/06/2014 Germany            2-2 Ghana (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
• 27/06/2026 Croatia               2-1 Ghana (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]

• Ghana has scored in each of their FIFA World Cup games played on Saturday (scoring 8 goals in 5 games).

• Two Nations' FIFA World Cup games in the USA:

• Colombia have won once in their previous FIFA World Cup games on the soil of the United States (W1 D1 L2 GF4 GA5):

• Saturday, 18/06/1994 (Group stage) [1994 World Cup]
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, USA
Colombia                      1-3 Romania 
Adolfo Valencia 43'//Florin Raducioiu (brace) 16', 89', Gheorghe Hagi 34'

• Wednesday, 22/06/1994 (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, USA
United States               2-1 Colombia
Andres Escobar 35' (OG), Earnie Stewart 52'//Adolfo Valencia 90' 

• Sunday, 26/06/1994 (Group stage) [1994 World Cup]
Venue: Stanford Stadium
 Switzerland                 0-2 Colombia
Herman Gaviria 44', John Harold Lozano 90' 

• Saturday, 27/06/2026 (Group stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA
Colombia                      0-0 Portugal 

• Their group stage fixture against Portugal (0-0) is the only game Colombia failed to score a goal on the soil of the United States in the history of the FIFA World Cup. 

• Ghana are yet to record a FIFA World Cup win on the soil of the United States (D1 L1 GF1 GA2:

• Tuesday, 23/06/2026 (Group stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Boston Stadium, USA
 England                        0-0 Ghana

• Saturday, 27/06/2026 (Group stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Philadelphia Stadium, USA
Croatia                          2-1 Ghana
Petar Sucic 31', Nikola Vlasic 83'//Derrick Luckassen 73'

• Ghana's other competitive games in the USA:

• Saturday, 01/07/2017 (International friendly)
Venue: Pratt and Whitney Stadium, East Hartford in USA 
USA                                2-1 Ghana
Dorn Dwyer 19', Kellyn Acosta 52'//Asamoah Gyan 60'

• Tuesday, 17/10/2023 (International friendly)
Venue: GEODIS Park, Nashville, Tennessee, USA 
USA                                4-0 Ghana
Gio Reyna (brace) 10', 39', Christian Pulisic 19' (pen), Folarin Balogun 22'

• Two Nations' Coaches:

• Colombia Head coach:

• 60-year-old Colombian coach, Nestor Gabriel Lorenzo, is an Argentine born on February 26, 1966, in Villa Celina, Argentina. He is a former player who played as a defender. 

• Managerial career:

• After retiring from active football in 1998, Lorenzo joined Jose Pekerman's coaching staff in the Argentina national U-20 team in 2000, as an assistant coach.

• On December 16, 2020, Lorenzo had his first managerial experience after being named at the helm of Peruvian Primera Division side FBC Melgar.

• Under Lorenzo's guidance, Melgar won the 2022 Apertura tournament in July and left after qualifying the club to the Quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana.

• Lorenzo served as assistant coach for the Colombia national team from 2012-2019.

• On June 2, 2022, the Colombian Football Federation announced Lorenzo as the head coach of the national team for the following four years.

• In July 2024, Colombia went 28 games undefeated under Lorenzo and had significant victories over the national teams of Germany, Brazil, Uruguay and Spain.

• Another major achievement of Lorenzo's was leading the national team to its first Copa America final in 23 years and managing Colombia to score 12 goals in the 2024 Copa America, their highest record in the competition; they lost the final on extra time to Argentina. 

• In September 2025, Colombia qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup under the guidance of Lorenzo, finishing third in CONMEBOL and achieving the nation’s seventh World Cup qualification.

• Nestor Lorenzo has played 49 games for the Colombian national team since July 2022 with a record (W30 D12 L7), win percentage of 61.22%.

• In 2024, Lorenzo was considered to be one of the 10 best national team managers in the World.

• Ghana Head coach:

• 73-year-old Ghana coach, Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz, is a Portuguese born on March 1, 1953, and on April 13, 2026, Queiroz was appointed head coach of Ghana ahead of their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Following Ghana's qualification to the knock-out stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Queiroz became the third foreign coach to have guided the team to progress beyond the group stages of the competition after Ratomir Dujkovic - Round of 16 in the 2006 edition and Milovan Rajevac - Quarter-finals in the 2010 edition, all from Serbia.

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the second time Carlos Queiroz's team has qualified for the knock-out stages of the tournament:
• Portugal in the 2010 World Cup.
• Ghana in the 2026 World Cup.

• Ghana finishing third place in Group L is the third time Carlos Queiroz's team has finished in that position at the FIFA World Cup in the group stages:
• Iran finished 3rd in Group B of the 2018 edition (Spain, Portugal, Iran and Morocco).
• Iran finished 3rd in Group B of the 2022 World Cup (England, United States, Iran, Wales).
• Ghana finished 3rd in Group L in this season's edition (England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama).

• Carlos Queiroz of Ghana lost his only knock-out stage game at the FIFA World Cup:
• 29/06/2010 Spain    1-0 Portugal (Round of 16) [2010 World Cup]

• The only time Carlos Queiroz met a side he has managed before at the FIFA World Cup tournament, the game ended in a draw:
• 25/06/2018 Iran       1-1 Portugal (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]

• Managerial statistics:

• Carlos Queiroz managed the Colombia national team from February 7, 2019 to December 1, 2020, where he saw them play 18 games in all competitions with a record (W9 D5 L4 GF22 GA18), win percentage of 50%.

• Since April 13, 2026, Carlos Queiroz has played 4 games for the Ghana national team in all competitions with the record (W1 D2 L1 GF3 GA3), win percentage of 25%.

• Match officials:

• Clement Turpin was born on May 16, 1982, in France and has been listed as a FIFA referee to officiate international matches since 2010, and a UEFA Elite Group referee since 2012.

• FIFA World Cup matches officiated by Clement Turpin so far:

• June 20, 2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
Venue: Rostov Arena, Russia 
Uruguay                        1-0 Saudi Arabia 

• June 27, 2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Russia 
Switzerland                  2-2 Costa Rica 

• November 24, 2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 
Uruguay                        0-0 South Korea 

• November 29, 2022 (Group Stage)
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 
Ecuador                         1-2 Senegal 

• December 5, 2022 (Round of 16) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar 
Brazil                             4-1 South Korea 

• June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: AT & T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA
England                         4-2 Croatia 

• June 25, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California, USA
Paraguay                      0-0 Australia 

• Clement Turpin is yet to issue a red card in any of his FIFA World Cup games officiated so far in his career since 2018 (7 games).

• This fixture will be the first time a referee from France will officiate a Colombia game at the FIFA World Cup but the 17th time a referee from Europe to handle a Colombia game at the tournament since 1962 in Chile (W9 D1 L6 GF24 GA15). 

• Colombia have failed to score in 1 out of 16 previous FIFA World Cup matches officiated by a European referee since 1962:
June 14, 1990 (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna
Yugoslavia                    1-0 Colombia
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)

• This fixture will be the first time a referee from France will officiate a Black Stars of Ghana game at the FIFA World Cup since their maiden participation in 2006.

• Nine (9) Referees from Europe have officiated Ghana games at the FIFA World Cup since 2006 with a record of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.

• Apart from Ghana's 1-0 win over Panama, which is the only game officiated by a European referee that the Black Stars did not concede.
June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Toronto Stadium, Canada 
Ghana                            1-0 Panama 
Caleb Yirenkyi 90+5'
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)