KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jhon Arias scored off a sharp cross from Luis Suárez in the opening minutes, and Colombia controlled Ghana on a sweltering night at Arrowhead Stadium, allowing Los Cafeteros to advance to the round of 16 at the World Cup with a 1-0 victory Friday night.
Colombia will play Switzerland on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a spot in the quarterfinals.
This was only Colombia’s second ever World Cup knockout-stage win and first since 2014 when they reached the quarterfinals in Brazil.
The game was just minutes old when Colombia forward Jhon Córdoba appeared to hurt his groin, forcing coach Néstor Lorenzo to bring Suárez — the standout from Sporting CP — off the bench as an early substitute.
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He factored into the game immediately: In the 14th minute, Daniel Muñoz played a ball to Suárez, who sent it across the front of the goal, where Arias was waiting to flick it past Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi for a 1-0 lead.
Ghana failed to have a single shot on goal as Colombia kept their third-straight shutout.
Veteran playmaker James Rodríguez, who scored both goals in a win over Uruguay to put Colombia in the quarterfinals in 2014, was making his 10th World Cup start, tying Carlos Valderrama and Freddy Rincón for the most among Colombian players in the tournament.
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However, the 34-year-old exited Friday’s game at halftime.
It was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 Celsius) with a heat index of 96 when the game kicked off at 8:30 p.m. local time, the late start intentional due to the expected heat of Midwestern summers. The hydration breaks that have been controversial in so many matches suddenly became a blessing as players from both sides fought through dehydration and cramps.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
