Croatia is in second place in Group L at the World Cup, Ghana is in third: is Colombia or Portugal ahead?

Croatia finished second in Group L at the World Cup, beating Ghana 2-1. Both teams have reached the round of 16 and will now face either Colombia or Portugal. Croatia, fresh off a win over Ghana, will travel to Toronto on July 2 to face second-placed Group K between Colombia and Portugal. Ghana, in turn, will play in Kansas City on July 3 against the top seed in Group K. Petar Sučić opened the scoring for Croatia in the 31st minute with a 30-yard shot, the first goal Ghana has conceded in the tournament. However, Ghana was able to come back in the second half: Derrick Lucassen scored from close range after a corner. A long VAR review confirmed that the offside Kwasi Sibo had not interfered with the play and the goal was awarded. Croatia restored their lead soon after, with Nikola Vlasic heading the ball into the net from a corner in the 83rd minute. England finished top of Group L and will face their opponents in Atlanta on July 1. It is unclear who the opponent will be, but projections suggest it could be Senegal (57 percent) or DR Congo (42 percent). Second-place Croatia will likely play Colombia or Portugal on July 2 in Toronto, while Ghana will face whoever finishes Group K in Kansas City on July 3. Panama finished last and was eliminated from the tournament.Difficult World Cup for Semenyo. Many top players were unable to take part in the tournament due to injury or the choice of coach, but perhaps none of them was needed by their team as much as Mohamed Kudos. The striker suffered a hamstring injury in early January and then also damaged his quadriceps, keeping him out of the tournament. Ghana, without Kudus, has to rely on Semenyo, who struggles to lead the attack. If Kudus had been fit, the manager could have used two fast wingers in his 4-1-4-1 formation. Without him, it's easy for opponents to double down on Semenyo when he gets the ball! they happened in the penalty area. Coach Queiroz adheres to defensive tactics and rarely risks sending more than two players forward. This means that Semenyo may not receive the ball in dangerous areas for a long time. If Ghana want to be successful in the knockout stages, they need to revise their attack so that the workload is less on Semenyo.Why were some Ghanaian fans unable to attend the match? Hundreds of Ghana fans, some of whom traveled more than 8,000 kilometers from Accra, remained to watch the match from the pavement outside the stadium. No one knew who owned the tickets for this large group. Some thought that someone from the fan association should have brought them. The police at the entrance increased their presence, citing "security" reasons. Shortly after kick-off, police cleared the area and sent away disappointed fans. Enjoy Modric's performance while you can. Luka Modric, 40, played in Croatia's last 22 World Cup matches. This was his 201st cap for the national team. In the first half, he and his teammate Matej Kovacic, 32, controlled the game. However, in the second half, when Ghana increased the pressure, Modric showed himself to be a real fighter. He initiated the corner, after which Vlašić scored, restoring Croatia's lead. Modric became the oldest player to provide an assist at the Opta World Cup. Despite his age, he still demonstrates a high level of play.Why did it take so long to check Ghana's goal? VAR and offside calls can create a tense situation. It took almost five minutes for Lucassen's goal to be confirmed. The judges took a long time to decide whether Sibo was offside. They ultimately concluded that he was offside but did not interfere with play and the goal was awarded. Lucassen, a defender, is the brother of Brian Brobbey, who has scored three goals for the Netherlands this World Cup. During this time, Ghana will be grateful to Lucassen for his quality in set-pieces when they are struggling to convert in open play.---## Related Articles1. Mateo Kovačić brilla en la victoria de Croacia sobre Ghana en el Mundial 2026 2. 🗣️ '...we have Alphonso back' Marsch previews Canada's knockout tie