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Luis Diaz has been one of Colombia’s most impactful players so far and was very unlucky not to find the target against Portugal last time out with four shots and the most touches of any player in the opposition box (seven).

Diaz has had 11 shots across his three starts at the World Cup (3.68 per 90), seeing three of those efforts find the target (1.00 per 90). He was crucial for Colombia during qualifying with seven goals across his 17 starts from 21 shots on target (1.28 per 90). 

Ghana will sit in a very deep block here and look to frustrate Colombia. The South American side have shown they aren’t afraid to take on efforts whenever the opportunity presents itself, with 15+ shots in all three games so far, clearing 20 shots in two of those matches.

Lucumi has committed four fouls across his three starts at the World Cup so far (1.33 per 90) and has also collected a yellow card during the tournament against DR Congo, which was a very similar game to the one Colombia can expect here.

Lucumi has committed a foul in all three of his games so far, committing two in Colombia’s opener against Uzbekistan. The centre back will have to deal with Jordan Ayew, who leads the line for Ghana and has always been very strong when it comes to winning fouls - drawing five across his three starts at the World Cup so far (2.00 per 90).

I’ve touched on how I think this game will unfold, with Ghana sitting deep and Colombia trying to break them down with a high shot count, which should lead to Ghana’s keeper being called into action on at least three occasions.

Colombia have had 15+ shots in all three of their games so far, managing 24 efforts against Portugal last time out. They’ve managed 4+ shots on target in all three of their games, clearing six shots on target against Portugal and DR Congo. What stands out from this shot volume is that Colombia will take aim from almost anywhere; their 20-shot haul against DR Congo only returned an xG of 0.98.

Ghana’s goalkeeper, Benjamin Asare, has been called into action eight times across his two starts at the World Cup after coming on in the opening game. This works out to an average of 3.20 saves per 90, with a save percentage of 80%.

When a side faces a deep block as stubborn as I expect Ghana’s to be here, the probing side usually end up with a decent corner count as the space tends to be in the wide areas and there are usually quite a few crosses.

Colombia have had 4+ corners in all three of their World Cup matches so far, managing 5+ corners in their last two matches against DR Congo and Portugal. Ghana allowed England to register nine corners when they held them to a 0-0 draw a few days ago, and I think Colombia can come away with just as healthy a corner count.

This selection lines up with how I think the game will pan out. Colombia have been shooting for fun at the World Cup, with 15+ shots in all three of their group games; they covered this shots on target line in two of their three group matches - falling just one shot on target short in their win over Uzbekistan.

Colombia averaged 5.34 shots on target per game during qualifying, so the trend of the South American side being willing to take on efforts from pretty much anywhere stretches far further back than the three group games, where they were really impressive at times. 

I also like this angle because it’s likely to take Colombia a while to find a way through this Ghana side. They didn’t break down DR Congo until the 76th minute, having 20 shots and nine shots on target in that game.