Ghana arrived at the FIFA World Cup two months after Carlos Queiroz's shock appointment and with legal issues surrounding Thomas Partey, but the Black Stars have fought valiantly on the field and will now face Colombia in the round of 32 on Friday in Kansas City.
Queiroz has expressed frustration with the defensive errors which led to Ghana's 2-1 loss to Croatia in their last game - their only defeat of the tournament. The Black Stars previously beat Panama 1-0 and drew 0-0 with England and have been remarkably robust at the back.
The Black Stars entered this tournament without one of their talismen - Tottenham Hotspur's Mohammed Kudus - due to injury. Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey - formerly of Arsenal - missed the win over Panama after being denied entry over rape and sexual assault charges in the United Kingdom. Partey, for his part, denies any wrongdoing.
Queiroz has had plenty to deal with while still finding his best XI. However, Ghana kept clean sheets in their first two games and were unlucky not to have a penalty awarded for a challenge from Ezri Konsa on Prince Adu against England. Had they been given a spot-kick, it would have been a golden opportunity to have a perfect six points from their first two games.
It was not to be, but Ghana progressed in third place in Group L to face a Colombia side which topped Group K, ahead of Portugal - Queiroz's home country.
Ironically, Queiroz had a stint in charge of Colombia from 2019-20, with a 3-0 home loss to Uruguay and a 6-1 defeat to Ecuador ultimately making his position untenable.
Both Colombia and Queiroz bounced back, and now, their paths will cross again in Kansas City with progress to the round of 16 to face either Switzerland or Algeria at stake.
Key details
Date: Friday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Kansas City (July 4 at 1:30 a.m. GMT, 2:30 a.m. BST, 3:30 a.m. CAT)
Venue: Kansas City Stadium (otherwise known as Arrowhead), Kansas City
How to watch: The match is available on ITV1 and ITVX in the UK. FOX holds English-language broadcast rights in the US and the match is available on Telemundo for Spanish-language broadcast and Fubo for streaming.
In much of sub-Saharan Africa, SuperSport holds broadcast rights.
SportyTV is an option for streaming, including in Ghana, while the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) secured free-to-air broadcasting rights for the tournament.
World Cup rights-holders in Colombia are Caracol, RCN and Win Sports.
Team news
Carlos Queiroz continues to tinker with his Ghana starting XI in search of an ideal team. One of the major points of debate is the goalkeeper spot, which was initially handed to Lawrence Ati-Zigi for the first half in the Black Stars' opener against Panama, but has been held by Benjamin Asare since he came on at half-time of that game due to Ati-Zigi's niggling injury.
Asare has had a superb tournament, hence he has kept his spot in goal. However, after the two goals conceded against Croatia, the game against Colombia may prove a test of the extent to which Queiroz truly backs him as his number one.
Antoine Semenyo suffered a knock against Croatia, but indications are that it was not a particularly serious one and he is expected to play against Colombia.
Expected lineups
Colombia
GK Camilo Vargas
LB Deiver Machado | CB Jhon Lucumí | CB Davinson Sánchez | RB Santiago Arias
CM Gustavo Puerta | CM Jefferson Lerma | CM Jhon Arias
LW Luis Díaz | ST Jhon Córdoba | RW James Rodríguez
Ghana
GK Benjamin Asare
LB Gideon Mensah | CB Derrick Luckassen | CB Jonas Adjetey | RB Marvin Senaya
CM Caleb Yirenkyi | CM Thomas Partey | CM Issahaku Fatawu
LW Ernest Nuamah | ST Jordan Ayew | RW Antoine Semenyo
Stats
Colombia's James Rodríguez has picked up six goals and four assists in 11 FIFA World Cup games since his tournament debut in 2014.
Ghana's tough-tackling right-back Marvin Senaya has won 24 out of his 38 duels at the World Cup, as per Flashscore.