Colombia face off with Ghana in what promises to be a fascinating round-of-32 tie that will be determined by which of the South American team's attack and Africa's defence comes up trumps.
Colombia reached this stage after topping their group, drawing against Portugal and beating both Congo DR and Uzbekistan. Ghana, meanwhile, qualified as one of the best third placed teams after beating Panama, drawing England and losing to Croatia.
Here's everything you need to know about the game:
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV 1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Friday July 3, 9.30 p.m.
UK BST: Saturday, July 4, 2.30 a.m.
India IST: Saturday July 4, 7.00 a.m.
Australia AEST: Saturday July 1, 12 p.m.
Venue: Arrowhead stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Referee: TBC
Team News and Predicted Lineups
Colombia
Predicted XI (4-3-3):
Camilo Vargas
Daniel Muñoz | Davinson Sánchez | Jhon Lucumí | Johan Mojica
James Rodríguez | Jefferson Lerma | Gustavo Puerta
Jhon Arias | Jhon Córdoba | Luis Díaz
Ghana
Predicted XI (4-3-3)
Benjamin Asare
Marvin Senaya | Jonas Adjetey | Jerome Opoku | Gideon Mensah
Caleb Yirenkyi | Thomas Partey | Kwasi Sibo
Iñaki Williams | Jordan Ayew | Antoine Semenyo
Talking Points
Will Colombia's total-football break Ghana down?
The two teams may set up in a 4-3-3, but rarely has the same formation looked so different as the way Nestor Lorenzo and Carlos Queiroz do it. Lorenzo's Colombia are a chaotic, free-wheeling, attack-first side that although capable of shutting up shop, when need be, much prefers to play the game on the front foot. You see, usually a right back like Daniel Munoz being your top scorer might indicate a dull attack, but this just means Colombia's right back has the freedom to moonlight as their centre-forward when the occasion demands it.
This fast, fluid forward play may be exactly what it takes to unlock a Carlos Queiroz low block. Ghana will need to watch out for Munoz's runs, James Rodriguez rolling back the years and threading through balls in from across the front third and Luis Diaz popping up in the most dangerous areas,
Will the Queiroz way succeed?
When you hire Carlos Queiroz to manage your team, you know exactly what to expect: solidity, risk-free football often crossing over the line to boring, and a team where the forward players have immense defensive responsibilities as well. Which is why a Ghana attack that has both Iñaki Williams and Antoine Semenyo isn't the fast, direct attacking unit that it promises to be on paper. Hired just ahead of this tournament to bring stability to a team that seemed to be spiralling dangerously out of form, Queiroz has certainly done that: just look at the solidity of that 0-0 draw vs England.
It's the kind of football that can you take deep in knockout competition, but against quality attacks such as Colombia, it remains to be seen if it will succeed without much of a counter punching option.
