Ghana enter their final Group L match against Croatia on Saturday having secured a place in the World Cup knockout stages for the first time since 2010, a progression clinched by results elsewhere, according to the source.
Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia know a draw would be sufficient to advance, but only a win would move them ahead of Ghana as group runners-up and could even lift them to the top of the pool, the report says.
Ghana sit on four points, and even a defeat would leave them ahead of at least four teams in the third‑place rankings. The Black Stars, however, remain focused on finishing as high as possible: second place could set up a meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, while topping the group would yield a marginally easier last‑32 opponent, according to the source.
Team messages ahead of the match include coach Carlos Queiroz urging players to channel Manchester United’s ‘Nou Camp spirit’ and forward Antoine Semenyo calling for the squad to be ‘more aggressive’ with referees, the report notes.
African sides have been a notable storyline at the tournament. Cape Verde has become the smallest country by population to reach the knockout stage, while South Africa’s result against South Korea set up a last‑32 tie with Canada. Tunisia are the only African team already eliminated after losing all three group matches by significant margins, but Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain in contention; it is possible nine African nations could advance, according to the source.
