Ghana kicked off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in dramatic fashion, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from Caleb Yirenkyi in their Group L opener.
With England already recording a 4-2 win over Croatia earlier in the day, the Black Stars knew the importance of claiming all three points to stay in contention at the top of the group. Although they dominated possession for large spells, Ghana had to dig deep before eventually finding the breakthrough in the dying moments.
Panama started brightly and nearly took an early lead when Cecilio Waterman tested Lawrence Ati Zigi in the second minute, but the Ghana goalkeeper reacted sharply to keep the scores level. The Central Americans continued to pose problems through Christian Martínez and Jiovany Ramos, while Ghana struggled to turn possession into clear scoring opportunities.
The Black Stars suffered a setback before halftime when Ati Zigi sustained an injury. Despite receiving treatment and completing the first half, he was replaced by Benjamin Asare at the start of the second period.
Ghana looked more threatening after the restart. Antoine Semenyo came close with a header, Brandon Thomas-Asante worked tirelessly in attack, and substitute Issahaku Fatawu injected pace and creativity as the Black Stars searched for a winning goal.
Panama, however, remained dangerous on the counterattack. Martínez fired narrowly wide, while Ismael Díaz forced Asare into a fine save as both sides pushed for a decisive moment.
That moment finally arrived five minutes into stoppage time. Thomas-Asante threaded a clever pass into the path of Yirenkyi inside the penalty area, and the midfielder calmly shifted the ball away from his marker before unleashing a powerful strike into the roof of the net, sparking wild celebrations among the Ghana supporters.
Panama threw numbers forward in a desperate attempt to salvage a point and almost found an equaliser when Díaz met a rebound with a header, but Asare produced another crucial stop to preserve Ghana’s lead.
The victory gives Ghana a perfect start to their World Cup campaign and leaves them level on three points with England at the top of Group L heading into their next fixture.
