Victory over Ghana: Bayern star Diaz leads Colombia to the Round of 16 | OneFootball

Luis Diaz and Colombia have had a strong World Cup so far and still have big plans for the tournament in North America. On Friday night, they faced Ghana in the Round of 16. 

Diaz was already in top form during the group stage and established himself as the leader of the Colombian team.

Now it was time for their first knockout match. Colombia defeated Ghana 1-0 and can continue to hope for the big prize. Diaz was one of the most prominent players on the field and repeatedly drove the “Cafeteros’” offense forward.

Diaz and Colombia Advance to the Round of 16

The start of the match was quite unusual. For Colombia, former Bundesliga player Jhon Córdoba had to be replaced early on by Luis Suárez due to a groin injury (8th minute); shortly thereafter, Ghana’s Marvin Senaya gave way to Alidu Seidu after suffering a muscle injury (13th minute). Suarez made an immediate impact, delivering a dream cross to the far post—and Arias, completely unmarked, tapped it in to give his team the lead.

Photo: Getty Images

The Bayern star’s team was thus able to celebrate early and continued to dominate the match thereafter. Ghana posed a threat at times, but overall they were too weak and too conservative.

It wasn’t until the second half that the Africans loosened up a bit, but they still failed to create many compelling chances. Luis Diaz missed an opportunity and scored once from an offside position, so his celebration was short-lived.

Nevertheless, the victory stood in the end, and the Colombians advance to the next round, where they’ll face Switzerland. Kickoff for this Round of 16 match is Tuesday evening at 10 p.m. Bayern star Diaz hopes he can once again have a decisive impact on the game.  And even though the Swiss have a lot of quality, Colombia—with its own strength and Diaz as its leader—definitely has a chance to advance.