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Preamble

The last time the World Cup was held in the United States, Colombia were among the favorites. Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama. Adolfo Valencia. Faustino Asprilla.

And they fell flat. They lost to an unfancied Romanian side. Then their hopes vanished in one of the best games the USA have ever played.

Things were better in 2014 as Colombia blasted their way through the group stage, nudged aside Uruguay in the round of 16, then fell to Brazil in the quarterfinals. James Rodríguez led the way with six goals and is still on the team. The win over Uruguay is Colombia’s lone win in World Cup knockout rounds.

Ghana also have one win in the knockout rounds, and we’ll pause for a moment as US supporters groan at the memory from that 2010 game. (Several US players from that game are doing commentary of some sort this time around.)

So this match brings together two countries that have been on the periphery of the elite but haven’t quite knocked down the door. One of them will take a big step in that direction in a matter of hours.

Hello all, and welcome to …

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… that’s OK, we’ll wait. The entire planet is watching this game right now:

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at this match from Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide:

What to watch for

Colombia have grown into their role as dark horses, topping Group K ahead of Portugal to set up a favourable last-32 tie against Ghana. While the South Americans have scored more than one goal in just one of their three matches so far, they have shown enough to suggest a deep run could be on the cards.

Ghana have exceeded gloomy pre-tournament predictions by making it this far. Carlos Queiroz has managed to instil a doggedness in his team who have shown their defensive resolve in matches against Croatia, England and Panama. Colombia could find them difficult to break down.

Player to watch: Antoine Semenyo, Ghana – If Ghana are to stand a genuine chance of making the last 16, they’ll need Semenyo in top form. The Manchester City attacker has struggled for service, but is capable of magic with the ball at his feet.