21.
01:23
Semenyo gets the space on the left side for a cross, but it is too imprecise and can easily be cleared out of the danger zone.
19.
01:21
Panama’s strong initial phase seems to be over for Ghana and they are slowly gaining a foothold through better access to the outside positions. Nevertheless, the players in red seem a little more active and have the game largely under control with around 60% possession of the ball.
16.
01:17
Yellow card for Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
After a rare phase of possession in the opponent’s penalty area, Ghana loses the ball and Yirenkyi is forced to stop Bárcenas with a tactical foul. For this he receives the first yellow card of the game.
13.
01:16
Now the Black Stars have an opportunity to counterattack for the first time, Nuamah is sent on the journey over a few stations and sets pace on the right side. There Córdoba takes on him and impressively wins the running duel.
12.
01:14
And then finds gaps, like here via Rodríguez on the left wing, who prevails one-on-one and then looks for Waterman in the box. The center forward narrowly misses.
11.
01:13
Ghana is now defending the high diagonal balls a little more attentively, which is causing the game to stall a bit. But Panama doesn’t get hectic, instead they patiently let the ball run through their own ranks.
8.
01:10
Blackman supposedly takes the free kick after a throw-in on the left wing, but previously he was offside, so Ghana continues to have possession of the ball.
6.
01:07
La Marea Roja dominates the initial phase. Especially by moving high to the side, you always create space that can then be used by the rail players Murillo and Blackman for crosses or advances into the center.
4.
01:06
On the other side, Semenyo is now being looked for with a long ball, but the Manchester City star cannot reach it after goalkeeper Mosquera has passed it.
2.
01:05
The first big opportunity early in the game belongs to the Panamanians. Murillo appears in the right half of the field and crosses the ball into the penalty area. There, Waterman takes the ball directly from a technically demanding position at full speed with his opponent Adjetey behind him and forces Ati-Zigi to make the first save of the game with his shot from a good 14 meters.
1.
01:01
Kick-off in Toronto, the Ghanaians in the yellow jerseys are allowed to kick off, Panama plays in red.
1.
01:01
Game start
00:54
The referee team for this game will be led by Swede Glenn Nyberg. His compatriots Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderkvist, who assist as linesmen, provide support on the sidelines. The fourth official is from Saudi Arabia and his name is Khalid Al-Turais. The VAR is the Belgian Bram van Driessche, his assistant is the Italian Marco di Bello.
00:49
On paper, the West Africans are playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation at the Toronto Stadium today and usually rely on quick vertical play after high ball wins, i.e. counter-attacking football. The Panamanian national team, on the other hand, plays with two players on the wing in a 3-4-3 formation, which is likely to develop into a five-man chain defensively. The Marea Roja (“Red Wave”) is usually stable when playing against the ball and should therefore make things difficult for the Ghanaian offensive stars.
00:38
On the other hand, Panama is ranked 34th in the world and has a team that doesn’t have quite as many players in the top European leagues, but is still not to be underestimated. While Ghana was unable to win any of the last five test matches, the Central Americans secured two of them in the last five games and only lost the test against Brazil, ranked sixth in the world rankings.
00:29
Even though they are only ranked 73rd in the FIFA world rankings, the Ghanaians still have some players in their squad who are under contract with well-known clubs. Above all, the offensive team should rely on Antoine Semenyo, who moved to English heavyweight Manchester City for 71 million pounds in the winter, where he scored eleven goals and provided three assists in 27 games. Another of the Black Stars’ star players is in focus for a different reason: Thomas Partey, who plays for FC Villareal in Spain, is not allowed to enter Canada due to ongoing criminal proceedings and is therefore not in the squad today.
00:11
On this night from Wednesday to Thursday, the first match day of the World Cup comes to an end and one of the last games is the meeting between the national teams of Ghana and Panama. In addition to the big football nations England and Croatia, which complete Group L with these two, both the West Africans and the Central Americans are probably having a rather difficult time. This means that the best chance of qualifying for the main round remains one of the best third places. A win in this opening game seems all the more important today.
Hello and welcome to the game between Ghana and Panama! The ball for this second game in Group L starts at 01:00 CET.