Kansas City: Jhon Arias scored from a pinpoint cross by Luis Suárez in the opening stages, and Colombia controlled Ghana on a sweltering night at Arrowhead Stadium to advance to the World Cup Round of 16 with a 1-0 victory.
Colombia will face Switzerland on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a place in the quarter-finals.
The game on Friday night was only minutes old when Colombia forward Jhon Córdoba appeared to injure his groin, forcing coach Néstor Lorenzo to bring on Suárez, the Sporting CP forward, not the Inter Miami striker of the same name, as an early substitute.
He made an immediate impact. In the 14th minute, Daniel Muñoz played the ball to Suárez, who delivered it across the face of goal, where Arias was waiting to flick it past Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi for a 1-0 lead.
Los Cafeteros thought they had doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Luis Díaz found the back of the net, only for the offside flag to be raised. The Colombia forward then saw a point-blank effort saved by Zigi a few minutes later.
Zigi finished with seven saves to keep Ghana in the game.
It was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 degrees Celsius), with a heat index of 96, when the match kicked off at 8:30 pm local time. The late start was intentional because of the expected Midwestern summer heat. The hydration breaks that have been controversial in several matches proved valuable as players from both teams battled dehydration and cramps.
Colombia had cruised through the group stage, conceding only one goal in wins over Uzbekistan and Congo, along with a draw against Portugal. Los Cafeteros had been so impressive that Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, whose own team is considered among the tournament favourites, described them as "a candidate to win the World Cup."
Their fans certainly believe in them.
The home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs has three tiers of seating, with a band of yellow seats sandwiched between red ones. Yet the entire stadium bowl, just east of downtown Kansas City, was awash in Colombia's vibrant yellow nearly two hours before kick-off.
Ghana knew they would be underdogs. Yet the team that failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations last year for the first time in nearly two decades had already silenced plenty of critics by surviving a difficult group topped by England and Croatia.
The question as they faced Colombia was whether Ghana could create enough attacking opportunities.
As expected, Los Cafeteros dominated possession. The Black Stars had averaged just 36.1 per cent possession during the group stage, the second-lowest among teams that advanced, and those attacking struggles continued against Colombia. Even when Ghana managed to build an attack, Colombia responded quickly through the pace of Suárez, Díaz and their midfielders.
Ghana finished with eight shots, but none were on target.
