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Ghana's World Cup run came to a tame end in the round of 32 last Friday, beaten 1-0 by Colombia at Kansas City Stadium.
Jhon Arias scored the only goal in the 14th minute, finding himself unmarked at the far post to convert a Luis Suarez cross, as the Ghana defence broke down early to concede their third goal of the tournament, one that ultimately proved decisive enough to send them home.
Ghana, almost to no one's surprise, finished the game without a shot on target.
The result sends Colombia into a round of 16 meeting with Switzerland in Vancouver and Ghana back home to reflect on a campaign that was equal parts success and failure as they reached the knockout stage for the first time since 2010 but never looked like they would go much farther than what they did.
First things first, and this should by no means be taken a as criticism of Jordan Ayew's career, but as recognition that every era eventually ends.
For decades, the Ayew family has been synonymous with Ghanaian football. Their father, Abedi Pele, captained Ghana through multiple Africa Cup of Nations campaigns even if he never played at a World Cup.
Andre led the Black Stars at Qatar 2022. Four years later, it is younger brother Jordan, at 34, who took over the mantle to captain Ghana at his third World Cup and has now become Ghana's appearance record holder after passing Andre's mark of 120 caps at the beginning of the tournament.
But time has taken its toll on the youngest Ayew. Against Colombia, Ghana needed pace, direct running and an outlet capable of stretching the South Americans whenever possession was regained, but too often Jordan found himself isolated or unable to turn defensive recoveries into quick transitions, allowing Colombia to reset their shape.
While that was not solely his responsibility, as the midfield sometimes struggled to release runners quickly and Colombia pressed intelligently, it illustrated why Ghana now need to transition fully toward a younger attacking core.
Jordan's experience has been immensely invaluable, and what a ride it's been, but this feels like the right moment for him to pass the torch knowing that his legacy, and that of his family, is secure. The future now belongs to the next generation.
It is possible that Jordan may want to continue into next year's AFCON, but the smart decision for him (and the team) would be to bow out now.
Carlos Queiroz's decision to restore Lawrence Ati Zigi to the starting lineup was fully vindicated.
As capable a deputy as Benjamin Asare has been, it was clear from last Friday's game who the undisputed number one is.
There was little he could have done about the lone goal, but from that point on, Ati Zigi was responsible for keeping the Black Stars in the contest.
He repeatedly denied Luis Díaz, smothered dangerous efforts inside the penalty area and reacted sharply to prevent Colombia from putting the game beyond reach.
Ati Zigi frustrated Colombia enough to keep Ghana within touching distance for the entire game, but his forwards just could not make it count.
He finished with seven saves, denying Luis Diaz twice and Gustavo Puerta once, holding the scoreline to 1-0 against a side that generated 2.06 expected goals to Ghana's 0.26. By the final whistle, Ghana lost by only one goal largely because their goalkeeper refused to allow the scoreline to reflect Colombia's superiority.
If there was any debate over Ghana's first-choice goalkeeper, this performance should have settled it. It was a display that provided yet another reminder that when Ghana come under sustained pressure, there is no one in the current pool more capable of keeping them in the game.
Ultimately, Ghana did not lose this World Cup just because they conceded one goal to Colombia, but also because they simply never looked capable of scoring enough themselves.
For the entire duration of the game, Colombia limited Ghana to very few meaningful attacking moments and, even when they did manage to break free of those shackles and find themselves in dangerous positions, they just never looked like they knew what to do.
Crucially, Ghana failed to register a shot on target for the entire 90 minutes despite chasing the game for more than 75 minutes. The way they played on the night, they could have played for 90 more without troubling Camillo Vargas.
Antoine Semenyo, the player who entered the tournament on the back of outstanding club form with Bournemouth and Manchester City, finished the competition without a goal, but it was not for lack of trying.
If anything, he was the only one who put himself about the most against Colombia. Instead, Ghana's lack of goals is a malaise that afflicted the entire frontline -- the two goals they did get all tournament were scored by a midfielder and a defender.
Carlos Queiroz succeeded in making Ghana organized, disciplined and difficult to break down, but those improvements came with a huge trade-off.
The Black Stars rarely created sustained pressure against any opposition, relying instead on isolated moments and counterattacks.
That formula was enough to escape the group stage, but not enough to eliminate a team of Colombia's quality.
At least the defence held up, though, Queiroz set his team up to remain compact, deny space between the lines and frustrate Colombia for long spells.
It largely worked like it did against England, but you also have to factor in Colombia not 'needing' another goal after the opener.
Colombia dominated possession and territory but, thanks largely to Ghana's defensive discipline and Ati Zigi's goalkeeping, the contest remained within reach well into the second half.
Their only goal came from a momentary lapse early in the game. After that, Ghana shut up shop.
But therein lay the problem. Even when they fell behind, there was no noticeable tactical shift capable of unsettling Colombia.
The Black Stars struggled to advance the ball quickly, offered little threat from wide areas and rarely forced Colombia's goalkeeper into meaningful action.
While the organized defending gave Ghana a chance their limited attacking never gave them a way back into the match.
One thing that we can agree on is that Queiroz has established a defensive identity under during this tournament. Three goals allowed in four games is a marked improvement over the 10 goals the team conceded in their last four games under Otto Addo.
Now, the next phase must be finding or at least returning to an attacking identity to complement it, especially with AFCON qualifiers around the corner.
The key question though will be whether Queiroz is the man to do that going forward, given his tactical reputation.
Ghana had the ball just 36.1% of the time across the group stage, the second-lowest share among all teams that advanced to the knockout rounds, and that pattern held against Colombia, who controlled 61 percent of possession. At one point, Colombia had made 224 passes to Ghana's 45!
In advancing from a difficult group that included England and Croatia, Ghana looked significantly more organized than they have in recent major tournaments and showed they could compete physically and tactically with some of the world's strongest teams.
What Colombia exposed was the gap between being competitive and being genuine contenders.
The Black Stars now have defensive discipline, midfield resilience and a goalkeeper capable of saving matches on his own. What they still lack is the attacking quality to consistently trouble top-class opposition.
That is an easier problem to solve than rebuilding an entire team from scratch. For perhaps the first time in several years, Ghana leave a major tournament with a clear identity. The next challenge is adding enough goals to turn defeats into victories.
The AFCON qualifiers may not present the sort of high-level opposition Ghana faced at the World Cup, but if they are to add to their four African titles, they will definitely need to find that firepower upfront.
