It's the kind of win Colombia has made a habit of this tournament - not flashy, just efficient. The James Rodriguez-Diaz creative link controlled tempo all night, and a defense anchored by Davinson Sanchez and Jhon Lucumi didn't need to do much heavy lifting because Ghana rarely got close enough to test it.
Ghana's night summed up why they were such long shots coming in. They managed 8 shots and put zero on target, with Thomas Partey's blocked effort in the first 40 minutes standing as their best look. Goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi kept it from getting worse with a strong stoppage-time save on Mojica, but there was no offense to speak of at the other end.
Without Kudus in midfield, Ghana had no one to break lines and create for Antoine Semenyo and Jordan Ayew up top, and it showed - the front line was starved of service all match. The tournament ends here for the Black Stars, a result that tracks with the attacking questions hanging over this squad all week.
Clean sweep for our card. We backed Colombia on the moneyline and got exactly the version of Ghana we expected - toothless without Kudus, unable to create anything resembling a real chance. We also took Ghana +1.5 on the spread, and that held up too: Colombia won by just 1, the same tight-margin pattern our bear case flagged pre-match. And the under 2.5 cashed comfortably with only 1 goal scored all game.
The market had Colombia around a two-thirds favorite going in, and that's roughly how it played - dominant, but not blowout-dominant. Colombia move on with their unbeaten run intact; Ghana's tournament closes with the same defensive resilience and attacking limitations that defined their group stage.
Switzerland0-0
Ghana1-0
Portugal0-0
DR Congo1-0
Uzbekistan3-1Colombia0-1
Croatia1-2
England0-0
Panama1-0