World Cup start in Toronto
Ghana redeem themselves with a late goal
Updated June 18, 2026 – 3:07 amReading time: 2 minutes
In the second game of Group L, Panama and Ghana played well for long stretches. Ghana only took the lead shortly before the final whistle.
In the second game of Group L, Ghana secured a win over Panama with a stoppage-time goal. In the rain in the Canadian city of Toronto, the “Black Stars” won 1-0. Caleb Yirenkyi delivered the decisive goal in the 96th minute.
That’s how the game went
The positive sporting headlines come at the right time for the “Black Stars” after the last few days were dominated by the legal battle surrounding Thomas Partey, who was not allowed to enter Canada because of the rape allegations against him.
Partey will be back in the second round game next Tuesday in Boston against England and four days later in Philadelphia against Croatia.
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | +2 | 3 | ||||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | +1 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0:1 | -1 | 0 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2:4 | -2 | 0 |
Panama, which is coached by former Bundesliga top scorer Thomas Christiansen, still has to wait for its first point in its second World Cup participation since 2018. In addition, it will now be very difficult to progress in Group L with the English and Croatians.
Before the game, John Mahama, Ghana’s president, called the team and prepared them for their overseas mission. “I wanted to call you guys before this game and tell you that we’re all praying for you and that we believe you can do it.” According to Mahama, the whole of Africa looks up to the “Black Stars”. And further: “We expect you to do justice to this role.”
At the beginning, however, Panama was particularly pressing. Full-back Amir Murillo broke through on the right side early on, and after a precise cross, center forward Cecilio Waterman (2nd) forced Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi into a save with a volley. After the initial storm, the level quickly leveled off. Panama tried to break Ghana’s often advanced defense with long balls, but were too imprecise. And even the drinking break at 19 degrees and constant rain achieved little. The 42,942 spectators saw no major chances until the break.
