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Caleb Yirenkyi scored a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of the game in Toronto.
Updated on 18 Jun 2026
Ghana’s fans and players celebrated wildly as Caleb Yirenkyi capped off a great attack with a goal in the fifth minute of the second half to help the team beat Panama in both of their World Cup openers in Toronto.
The goal was followed by chaos before the referee blew the full-time whistle, securing a 1-0 win in the Group L match on Wednesday.
After Ghana quickly moved the play from their own half, Brandon Thomas-Asante curled the ball into the 18-yard box on the left, rolling it into the middle for Yirenkyi to slot into the net.
The second half was a stark contrast to the quiet first half.
The teams picked up the tempo in the second half, but scoring chances remained few and far between until the final play.
Panama were the top team before half-time, when Ghana ruled the match over.
The match was seen as an important clash between the teams expected to fight for third place in Group L.
Earlier on Wednesday, England defeated Croatia 4-2 in a match between the group’s favourites.
At the start of the tournament, FIFA ranked England 4th, Croatia 11th, Panama 34th and Ghana 73rd.
In the second minute, Ghanaian goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi was called into action, diving to his right to block Cecilio Waterman’s 15-yard effort.
Panama had another chance in the 38th minute. He said Zigi made a jump shot to clear the cross. The ball fell to Panama’s Jiovany Ramos, who cut it 14 yards, to the right.
He said Zigi was brought into the half due to injury, while Benjamin Asare took the net.
Ghana did not attempt a shot in the first half, the first team in this year’s World Cup to do so. Jonas Adjetey ended the drought with a header, which Panama’s Orlando Mosquera stopped in the 48th minute.
The Ghanaian team is missing midfielder Thomas Partey, who was denied a visa to enter Canada pending rape charges in England. He has denied the allegations. Partey will be present at two more games for the Ghanaian national team, both of which will be played in the United States.
Ghana is in the World Cup for the fifth time in the last six books, and their best result was in the quarterfinals in 2010.
Panama is participating in only their second World Cup, having lost all three of their matches in 2018.
The two teams square off again on Tuesday, with Ghana facing England in Foxborough, Mass., and Panama challenging Croatia in Toronto.
