For the first time since 2010, the Ghana Black Stars are competing in the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
Ghana, who has been based in Rhode Island and practices at Bryant University, finished third in Group L and will take on Colombia, the winners of Group K, in Kansas City on Friday, July 3 at 9:30 p.m.
Ghana is a significant underdog in the matchup, according to sportsbooks, but, if anything, Ghana welcomes that viewpoint.
Throughout the World Cup, the Black Stars have been viewed as an underdog. The team was ranked 73rd in the FIFA rankings when the World Cup started. For reference, the next closest ranked team in their group was Panama, which was ranked 34th. The fact that Ghana advanced past the group stage is a miracle.
Their journey started with a 1-0 victory over Panama thanks to a last-minute goal from Caleb Yirenkyi. Then, in Foxboro, the Black Stars held England to a scoreless draw, a result that guaranteed them a spot in the Round of 32. Finally, Ghana suffered its first loss in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia.
In all three games, the sportsbooks had the odds for the Black Stars to win or draw as plus money. Yet, they continued to defy the odds for this run. FanDuel currently has the odds of Ghana beating Colombia and advancing to the Round of 16 at +380.
To defy the odds once again, though, Ghana needs to beat Colombia. So, here’s a quick look at Colombia’s road to the Round of 32.
A 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan got Colombia an easy and expected three points to start Group play. Next was a DR Congo team that had just pulled off a shocking 1-1 tie against Portugal. Colombia was able to handle their scrappiness with a 1-0 victory. They ended group play with a 0-0 tie against Portugal.
This is a strong Colombia team, ranked 13th in the world by FIFA, but they are not without their holes.
The team has only managed to muster up one goal in their last two games, and it came in the 76th minute against DR Congo. This team has had slow starts in every one of their games, so expect Ghana to put pressure on the Colombians as they did to Croatia.
On paper, does it look like an almost impossible task for Ghana to win? Yes. But if results were based on the better team on paper, then Paraguay wouldn’t have upset Germany in the Round of 32. This World Cup has been full of shocking results so don’t be surprised if the underdogs come out on top once again.
The match will be broadcast on FOX and available to watch at the PVD FanZone.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Can Ghana pull off another World Cup upset against Colombia?
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