In a tense, rain-soaked opening Group H World Cup clash held in Toronto, Canada on Wednesday, Ghana snatched a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Panama that sent the city’s large Ghanaian supporter base into wild celebrations.
The match got off to an early promising start for Panama, when striker Cecilio Waterman fired off a second-minute test on goal that was only just deflected away by Ghana’s sprawling goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi. What followed after that early chance devolved into a gritty, attritional first half, with Ghana failing to register a single shot on target through the opening 45 minutes, as both sides struggled to break down stubborn defensive lines.
Steady rainfall soaked the Toronto Stadium pitch for the entirety of the second half, but the game opened up into a far more attacking contest. In the 60th minute, Panama’s Cristian Martinez came agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock, lashing a hard shot that clipped the side-netting – drawing a huge roar of near-elation from the thousands of Panamanian fans packed into the stands of the 43,000-capacity venue. Even a mid-second-half hydration break held in the pouring rain drew loud boos from the crowd, restless for more action after a slow start to the game.
As the clock ticked down, the fixture looked all but certain to end in a goalless draw. That all changed in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when Caleb Yirenkyi scrambled the ball over the line to secure the dramatic winning goal for the Black Stars. The strike sent thousands of Ghanaian supporters based in Canada’s largest city into a frenzy, and put Ghana atop its group after the opening round of fixtures.
The victory marks a landmark moment for Ghana’s veteran head coach Carlos Queiroz, who only took charge of the national side a few months ahead of this World Cup. With Wednesday’s appearance, Queiroz became just the second head coach in World Cup history to lead a side at five consecutive men’s World Cup tournaments, following previous stints at the 2010 World Cup with Portugal and the 2014, 2018, and 2022 tournaments with Iran.
Ghana’s opening win came despite a key absence: star midfielder Thomas Partey of Spanish club Villarreal was denied entry to Canada for the tournament due to an ongoing rape trial he faces in the United Kingdom, ruling him out of the squad for the clash.