By Gabriel Araujo

Kansas City, Missouri, July 4 (Reuters Sports Service) - Colombia's run to the last 16 of the World Cup has relied on dominating matches and creating a flood of scoring opportunities, but their inability to convert those chances into goals remains a concern ahead of the next knockout stage.

John Arias' 14th-minute goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over Ghana was enough to send the South Americans through to face Switzerland in Vancouver next Tuesday, but the scoreline did not reflect the balance of performance on the pitch.

Colombia posed a constant threat, forcing Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi into a series of impressive saves. A goal by Luis Diaz was ruled offside in the second half, and he then missed a clear-cut chance from close range shortly afterward.

Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz said, "They controlled the game in a much better way... Overall, I think the better team won."

However, missed opportunities have become a familiar story for Colombia.

After Colombia started their campaign with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, they continued to create chances without fully capitalizing on them.

They had 20 attempts, nine of them on target, in their 1-0 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo. Colombia created 24 chances, including six shots on target, against Portugal, but had to settle for a goalless draw.

This approach continued in the match against Ghana, as Colombia had 20 shots, eight of which were on target, while their opponent's attempts were limited to only eight shots, none of which were on target.

"I liked the way we defended after creating several chances but failing to convert them into goals," Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo told reporters after the match. "I appreciate the fact that we didn't suffer much apart from the clear opportunities the opposition had."

Diaz, who scored against Uzbekistan and is considered the team's most dangerous striker, admitted that scoring would have boosted his confidence in the match against Ghana. He also had a goal disallowed for offside against Congo.

Diaz said, "I think it would have been great if I had scored another goal. That's what I wanted and what I'm striving for as I continue to build confidence with our team."

Diaz was directly involved in more than 40 goals for Bayern Munich last season, and Colombia will need that rate to beat Switzerland.

The same applies to Luis Suarez, who replaced John Cordoba early in the match against Ghana after the latter's injury. Suarez, who started the first two matches before making way for Cordoba, could be a crucial factor in the team's hopes of progressing further in the tournament.

Colombia can draw confidence from their solid defense and their ability to consistently create chances. But Ghana coach Queiroz pointed out before the match that World Cup knockout ties leave no room for error.

The South American team would be wise to take seriously the warning from Queiroz (73 years old), who led Colombia from 2019 to 2020.