Ghana open their World Cup against Panama without Partey in Toronto

On paper this is the gap year of Group L. England and Croatia carry the names and the rankings, so when Ghana and Panama meet at BMO Field in Toronto in the early hours of Thursday morning IST, both will know it is the fixture they most need to win. Three points here keeps a knockout dream alive. Defeat, in a group this top-heavy, is close to fatal.

There is an oddity to the billing, though. Panama, ranked 34th in the world, actually sit comfortably above Ghana, who have slid to 74th. The Black Stars may have four previous World Cups and a 2010 quarter-final behind them, but they arrive as the lower-ranked side and out of sorts. A run of poor results cost Otto Addo his job after a 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany, and Carlos Queiroz was brought in to steady them just two months before the tournament.

Ghana without Partey

Queiroz has been handed a complication that has nothing to do with football. Thomas Partey, denied entry to Canada amid ongoing legal proceedings in England, lost an appeal at Canada’s Federal Court and will play no part in the opener. Losing a midfielder of his standing on the eve of a World Cup is the kind of disruption a settled side struggles with, let alone one still learning a new coach’s ideas.

What Ghana do have is attacking talent. Antoine Semenyo arrives off a strong first half-season at Manchester City following his January move from Bournemouth, Iñaki Williams brings his pace and Athletic Club pedigree, and captain Jordan Ayew, the most-capped man in the squad, offers the experience Queiroz will lean on. If Ghana are going to paper over their defensive uncertainty, it will be through the players in front of it.

Panama travel with belief

Panama are at their second World Cup and still chasing a first win at the tournament after going home pointless from Russia in 2018. Thomas Christiansen’s side are not built to dazzle. They are organised, hard to break down, and captained by the 36-year-old Aníbal Godoy, the country’s all-time appearance leader, with Adalberto Carrasquilla pulling the strings in midfield. A point against the group’s other supposed makeweight would feel like a win to them, and they have the higher ranking to back up the optimism.

The match sets up as a contest of styles: Ghana with the more dangerous individuals, Panama with the tighter structure. Queiroz teams tend to be cautious and well-drilled, which could blunt the very thing Ghana need from this game. Set pieces and a single moment of quality may decide it, as they so often do when two evenly matched sides both fear losing more than they crave winning.

What comes next

The loser here will face England and Croatia knowing the second round of group games has become a formality. That weight is why a tie that looks modest on the schedule carries so much for both. Ghana go on to meet England on June 23 in Boston and Croatia on June 27 in Philadelphia, a brutal pair of follow-ups that make this opening night all the more important. For a country that reached the last eight only 16 years ago, a sluggish start in Toronto would be hard to forgive.

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