Ghana’s late, lone goal leaves Panama ‘pointless’

After the blockbuster World Cup goal fest between England and Croatia, Group L’s first day continued with the game between Ghana and Panama at the Toronto Stadium in Canada. Pragmatically speaking, it was an important game for both the teams. In a group with England and Croatia, who both looked strong in their first game, these two sides were fighting for a third place in the group. Of course, a chance for an upset is always there in a World Cup but this game would also give both teams their best chance at securing 3 points before facing the giants of their group.

Ghana were coming into the tournament with the major absence of Mohammed Kudus, one of their star players, who was ruled out due to a quad injury he suffered in January. The Black Stars were struck another blow a few days before the opening match as midfielder Thomas Partey was denied entry into Canada. Canadian authorities announced that the denial was due to the player lying about his criminal record, as he is undergoing criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom over sexual assault allegations.

Their opponents, Panama, were looking to get their first points in their World Cup history, after having lost all of their games in their sole prior appearance in 2018. They fielded an experienced squad, with an average of 50 caps between the players, and were lucky to not have any absences.

Match kickoff was accompanied by rain that persisted over 90 minutes and certainly dampened the energy of the game as seen in the performance of both teams in the first half. Neither team seemed to find their footing throughout the first half, but Ghana, in particular, seemed to struggle. On the other hand, Panama began explosively with a great chance for veteran striker Cecilio Waterman in the first few minutes that was brilliantly denied by Ghanaian goalkeeper Ati Zigi. Panama’s head coach Thomas Christiansen had set the team up in a 3-4-3 formation, with the fullbacks often falling back during the counters to create a 5-at-the-back system. The formation posed a problem for the Ghanaian attack, which seemed unable to find any space in the first 45 minutes. It did not help that their star player Antoine Semenyo barely got involved, as he recorded just 8 touches in that half.

The Black Stars were coming into the tournament with new coach Carlos Quieroz, who had taken over only in April 2026, which meant the squad was still adjusting to his changes, which was evident at the start. There seemed to be an inability among their front trio of Semenyo, Ayew, and Sulemana to stretch the field and find space in between Panama’s back five. By the end of the half, they had zero shots on target. Ghana’s starting formation of 4-2-3-1, also allowed Panama to build play through their fullbacks Blackman and Murillo, who took advantage of long balls to stretch the Ghanaian backline.

A cross into Ghana’s box in the 33rd minute saw a collision between goalkeeper Ati Zigi and Panamanian midfielder Carlos Harvey, which seemed to have left the goalkeeper in discomfort as he was taken out at half-time for backup keeper Benjamin Asare. Before his substitution, Ati Zigi was the only bright spot for the African team as his multiple saves were the only reason that they didn’t go into the half down a goal.

However, like many games in the tournament so far, the match was a game of two very different halves. Ghana seemed like a whole different team in the second half, as the attack came alive, with Semenyo getting more involved in the build-up of the play. The winger was making better runs in behind, stretching the backline, which allowed the team to slowly start accumulating a few shots on target. Their best chance came in the 64th minute when substitute Thomas-Asante found Semenyo making a great run in behind on the right side. Unfortunately, Semenyo’s ball into the centre of the box did not find the feet of striker Jordan Ayew, as a well-timed tackle by centreback Jiovany Ramos gave the ball the smallest of chances to put it past the side post.

While the second half action was end-to-end at times, the real goalscoring opportunities were heavily skewed towards Ghana, as their moves along the wings often caught the Panamanian fullbacks out of position, thereby creating more space to find a cross or a pass into the middle. All the knocking on the door finally paid off for the Black Stars in injury time. In the 94th minute, midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi found Semenyo in their own half, and with Panama’s defence caught out of position, Semenyo pushed the ball forward into a large pocket on the left side. With a lot of space available to him, Thomas-Asante picked up the ball and dribbled into the box before playing a pass through the legs of left back Murillo to perfectly find Yirenkyi, who merely had to nudge it into the back of the net. With mere minutes left on the clock, and with the Ghanaian dominance in the second half, it seemed that Yirenkyi’s goal would be the dagger for Panama. While they attempted an all-out attack in those final minutes before the whistle, even bringing their goalkeeper in for the final corner, they were unable to find a response.

While it might not have been a goal fest like the previous Group L opener, Ghana will be extremely happy with the result as they sit second in the group and in a good position to be a strong third place contender. With the hopeful return of Thomas Partey for their remaining group fixtures in the United States, they will be looking to cause an upset, even a draw, against the European giants England and Croatia. Panama, on the other hand, will be looking back at the first half with regret, as they might feel they should have come away with at least a point from the game. Their quest for their first points at a World Cup will continue against Croatia on June 23.