Colombia vs. Ghana match stats: Live World Cup score, lineups and updates

Bullet point summary by AI

• Colombia faces Ghana in the World Cup round of 32 on Friday night in Kansas City.
• Colombia comes in with victories over Uzbekistan and DR Congo while Ghana advanced with a win over Panama and a draw against England.
• Expect a defensive battle as Ghana focuses on counterattacks while Colombia balances attack and defense.

After nearly a full week of drama, the World Cup round of 32 is finally set to reach its conclusion when Colombia and Ghana collide in Kansas City on Friday night. And after multiple major upsets (Germany, Netherlands) and several more close calls (Brazil, England, Portugal, Belgium), what are the chances that we have one more surprise in store before reaching the round of 16?

Colombia have made good on their dark-horse hype so far, picking up victories over Uzbekistan and DR Congo in their first two group matches before cruising to a scoreless draw with Portugal in a game that neither side were particularly motivated to win. With high-flying wingers in Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz and Sporting’s Luis Suarez (no, not the biting one) plus captain James Rodriguez in what will likely be his final go-round at the World Cup, this is a deep, balanced team capable of making a real run and putting a scare into any tournament favorite.

Not many projected this Ghana team to reach the knockout rounds, but in this new expanded format, a win over Panama and grinding out a scoreless draw against England proved enough to see the Black Stars through. With stalwarts like Jordan Ayew and Thomas Partey pushing into their mid-30s, this is not your older brother’s squad, but they know how to defend and will not make anything easy.

Keep up to date on Colombia vs. Ghana with the latest score, stats and plays from our live tracker.

Colombia vs. Ghana live score

Match tracker

Match stats

Match and player odds

Lineups

Play-by-play

Match and team props

We should expect a fairly defensive-minded game on Friday night, as the “both teams to score” odds show. Ghana scored just twice during the group stage, more than happy to sit back in defense and pick out the occasional chance on the counter. Colombia, as you’d expect from a CONMEBOL side, is as physical as anyone left in the tournament, and while they put up three goals against Uzbekistan, they scored just once in their other two matches against more even opposition.

Player props

Goals and shots

Diaz and Suarez are the offensive engines for Colombia, though it’s Daniel Muñoz who leads the team so far with two goals to his name. Caleb Yirenkyi and Derrick Luckassen have scored Ghana’s two goals at this tournament, as the Black Stars will not be looking for much offense on Friday night.

Assists

Ernest Nuamah and Brandon Thomas-Asante assisted on Ghana’s two goals during the group stage. For Colombia, meanwhile, four different players have notched one assist apiece: Diaz, Gustavo Puerta, Juan Fernando Quintero and Cucho Hernández.

*Props via DraftKings

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