Ghana Advances to World Cup Round of 32 After Group Stage Finish

Ghana advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup after finishing third in Group L. The side will play Colombia on July 3. The team secured its place with a 2-1 loss to Croatia on June 27 in Philadelphia. Ghana had earlier defeated Panama 1-0 on June 17 in Toronto.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz, 73, said the larger number of teams reduces the tournament's value. He noted Ghana would not have advanced under the previous format that sent only 16 teams to the knockout phase. "Today, money talks. In the game, money talks.

This is called not football but moneyball," Queiroz said after the Croatia match. He added that qualification matches in Europe and Africa have lost significance under the new structure. Queiroz became the oldest coach to win a World Cup match with the victory over Panama.

He said the expanded field turns the competition into something ordinary rather than rare.

The Round of 32 features 16 matches between the 32 nations that progressed from group play. The pairings include Germany against Paraguay, France against Sweden, South Africa against Canada, Netherlands against Morocco, Portugal against Croatia, Spain against Austria, United States against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium against Senegal, Brazil against Japan, Côte d’Ivoire against Norway, Mexico against Ecuador, England against DR Congo, Argentina against Cape Verde, Australia against Egypt, Switzerland against Algeria, and Colombia against Ghana.