Colombia vs. Ghana: How can Luis Diaz succeed where Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham's England failed at World Cup 2026?

Colombia are acceptable to look Ghana astatine Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium successful the aboriginal hours of Saturday greeting UK time, for a well-poised World Cup 2026 circular of 32 clash.

Los Cafeteros qualified for the knockout signifier arsenic the winners of Group K, drafting 0-0 with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal successful their last outing, portion the Black Stars went done from Group L arsenic 1 of the champion third-placed nations aft losing 2-1 to Croatia.

Bayern Munich winger Luis Diaz is the talisman for Nestor Lorenzo's side, though helium volition person his enactment chopped retired to interruption down Carlos Querioz's notorious debased artifact that denied adjacent England's superstar duo of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

Here, ahead of this circular of 32 tie, Sports Mole takes a look astatine however Colombia tin triumph wherever the Three Lions failed.

Why did England conflict against Ghana successful the radical stage?

Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions endured a frustrating time retired successful Foxborough, wherever they were held to a goalless stalemate by Ghana connected June 23.

England recovered themselves lacking a originative spark erstwhile faced with the Black Stars' heavy block, and were arguably fortunate to flight with a constituent considering they could person conceded a punishment and had Jordan Pickford sent disconnected successful abstracted incidents.

The European giants tried to find a breakthrough utilizing their wingers, but nary of Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashord oregon Bukayo Saka could supply one.

Tuchel controversially near adept passers specified arsenic Trent Alexander-Arnold and Adam Wharton retired of his last 26-man squad for World Cup 2026, thing that drew wide disapproval earlier the tourney kicked off.

Fielding astatine slightest 1 method passer successful the centre of the parkland tin assistance to unit a stalwart defence retired of its settled shape, and England sorely missed that illustration erstwhile confronted by Ghana's block.

How did Croatia bushed Ghana connected matchday 3 of the radical stage?

Ghana mislaid conscionable erstwhile during their group-stage campaign, winning their opener 1-0 against Panama and drafting with England earlier being downed by Croatia connected June 27.

Zlatko Dalic's Blazers took the pb successful the archetypal fractional done Petar Sucic, who recovered the backmost of the nett with a superb onslaught from region that nestled successful the bottom-left corner.

The Black Stars were not contented to surrender, though, and pegged the 2018 finalists backmost to 1-1 courtesy of Derrick Luckassen, who got connected the extremity of Ernest Nuamah's curled escaped footwear to slot successful an equaliser with little than 20 minutes to play.

However, different acceptable portion brought Croatia each 3 points erstwhile Torino's Nikola Vlasic headed location Luka Modric's country precocious successful the day.

All successful all, the Blazers were constricted to taking conscionable 3 of their 8 shots from wrong the box, but their technicians were capable to marque the astir of their acceptable plays portion utilizing the abstraction afforded by Ghana's antiaircraft setup to fto alert from distance.

How tin Luis Diaz's Colombia tin unlock Ghana successful World Cup circular of 32?

A throughline betwixt each of Ghana's group-stage games was their quality to contradict opponents abstraction adjacent to their goal, thing that could beryllium a large contented for the likes of Diaz.

The erstwhile Liverpool prima excels astatine carrying the shot with a level of directness and gait that tin wounded defences successful transition, but helium has struggled against heavy backlines successful the past.

All of England's wingers proved ineffective erstwhile facing the Black Stars, yet Croatia recovered a mode to triumph contempt being forced to instrumentality the bulk of their shots from extracurricular the punishment area.

In bid to make the abstraction indispensable for Diaz to beryllium astatine his best, past Colombia volition request to supply a superior menace erstwhile shooting from distance, portion further forcing Queiroz's broadside retired of their signifier with slick passing.

That being said, it remains to beryllium seen whether they tin lucifer the method prowess shown by Croatia successful the centre of the park, and Los Cafeteros' attempts to displacement astir a stubborn Ghana defence volition beryllium the cardinal conflict successful this tie.