Ghana snatched victory at the death as Caleb Yirenkyi scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner to secure a 1-0 victory over Panama in their opening Group L match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Just when it appeared the Black Stars would be forced to settle for a point, Yirenkyi arrived in the fifth minute of added time to tap home Brandon Thomas-Asante’s low cross and spark wild celebrations among the Ghanaian players and supporters at Toronto Stadium.
The late breakthrough capped a frustrating evening for Ghana, who struggled to break down a resilient Panama side that came within seconds of claiming their first-ever World Cup point.
Panama started brightly and almost stunned the Black Stars in the first two minutes. Amir Murillo delivered a dangerous low cross into the area, but goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi reacted sharply to deny Cecilio Waterman with an excellent diving save.
The Central Americans continued to threaten and should have taken the lead later in the half when a poor punch from Ati-Zigi fell kindly to Jiovany Ramos. However, the defender failed to capitalise, blasting his effort over the crossbar from a promising position.
Ghana found chances difficult to come by during a cagey first half and suffered a setback at the interval when Ati-Zigi was forced off after sustaining knocks in a series of collisions. Benjamin Asare replaced him for the second period.
The Black Stars gradually grew into the contest after the break, but Panama remained dangerous on the counterattack. Cristian Martinez came close to breaking the deadlock when he collected a loose ball inside the box, created space with a clever turn and fired narrowly into the side netting.
With the match opening up, Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz turned to his bench in search of inspiration. The changes nearly paid immediate dividends as Thomas-Asante burst beyond the Panama defence and squared across goal for Jordan Ayew, only for Ramos to produce a superb last-ditch challenge to prevent what looked like a certain goal.
As the clock ticked down, both teams appeared destined to share the points. But Ghana had one final attack left.
Thomas-Asante broke free down the left flank deep into stoppage time and drove into the penalty area before delivering a precise pass across goal. Yirenkyi timed his run perfectly and calmly converted from close range to score his first international goal and seal all three points for the Black Stars.
The dramatic victory places Ghana alongside England at the top of Group L after the Three Lions defeated Croatia 4-2 earlier in the day. For Panama, it was a heartbreaking end to a disciplined performance that had them on the verge of a historic result before Yirenkyi's late intervention changed the story of the night.
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