Colombia and Ghana meet in the FIFA World Cup round of 32 on Friday at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for July 3 at 7:30 p.m. local time (July 4 at 1:30 a.m. GMT, 2:30 a.m. BST, 3:30 a.m. CAT).
Ghana arrive after a campaign that began under new coach Carlos Queiroz and amid legal issues involving midfielder Thomas Partey. The Black Stars beat Panama 1-0, drew 0-0 with England and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Croatia — their only loss of the group stage. Ghana kept clean sheets in their first two matches and were denied a penalty for a challenge by Ezri Konsa on Prince Adu in the England game.
Partey missed the Panama victory after being denied entry to the U.K. over rape and sexual assault charges; he denies any wrongdoing. Queiroz has frequently rotated his starting XI and faces a decision in goal after starting Lawrence Ati-Zigi in the first half against Panama and replacing him with Benjamin Asare, who has retained the position following an impressive run. Antoine Semenyo suffered a knock against Croatia but is expected to be available for the Colombia game.
Colombia topped Group K ahead of Portugal and will meet Ghana with a place in the round of 16 — and a potential next opponent of Switzerland or Algeria — at stake. Queiroz previously had a spell in charge of Colombia from 2019-20, a period that included heavy defeats and ultimately ended his tenure.
Expected lineups include Colombia with Camilo Vargas in goal, Deiver Machado, Jhon Lucumí, Davinson Sánchez and Santiago Arias across the back, midfielders Gustavo Puerta, Jefferson Lerma and Jhon Arias, and an attack of Luis Díaz, Jhon Córdoba and James Rodríguez. Ghana are listed with Benjamin Asare in goal, Gideon Mensah, Derrick Luckassen, Jonas Adjetey and Marvin Senaya in defense, Caleb Yirenkyi, Thomas Partey and Issahaku Fatawu in midfield, and Ernest Nuamah, Jordan Ayew and Antoine Semenyo up front.
Broadcast details list ITV1 and ITVX in the U.K., FOX for English-language coverage in the U.S., Telemundo in Spanish, and Fubo for streaming. SuperSport holds rights in much of sub-Saharan Africa; SportyTV is an option for streaming including in Ghana, and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has free-to-air rights. World Cup rights-holders in Colombia are Caracol, RCN and Win Sports. Colombia’s James Rodríguez has six goals and four assists in 11 World Cup games since 2014, and Ghana’s Marvin Senaya has won 24 of 38 duels at the tournament, according to Flashscore.
