Yirenkyi’s stoppage-time winner gives Ghana a smash-and-grab over Panama
A late sucker punch in Toronto: Ghana barely laid a glove on Panama for 90 minutes, then stole their Group L opener at the death.
Jun 18, 2026
Ghana left it about as late as it gets. For 95 minutes Panama had been the more convincing side at BMO Field in Toronto, only for Caleb Yirenkyi to settle the Group L opener in the fifth minute of stoppage time and hand Ghana a 1-0 win they had barely earned but will gladly take.
Panama on top, Ghana hanging on
For long stretches this looked like Panama’s night. They controlled the ball through the first half, had close to two-thirds of possession, and carried the more obvious threat without quite forcing Lawrence Ati-Zigi into a busy evening. Ghana, by contrast, could not get going. They failed to register a shot on target before the break and spent much of the contest chasing the game rather than dictating it.
Panama’s best work came down the left, where Ismael Diaz kept finding pockets of space and asking questions of the Ghana defence. The half-time scoreline of 0-0 flattered the West Africans, and for much of the second half it felt as though one mistake either way would decide it.
Yirenkyi pounces at the death
The mistake, when it came, was Panama’s. Deep into added time Brandon Thomas-Asante burst down the left and stood up a cross to the back post, where Yirenkyi had stolen in unmarked to tap into an empty net. It was the fifth minute of stoppage time, and there was barely time to restart before the whistle went.
It was harsh on Panama, who had done the better football for most of the ninety, but Ghana will not care a jot. Three points from an opener you have struggled in are the kind that win groups, and the manner of it, ground out and snatched at the last, is the sort of result that can settle a squad’s nerves early in a tournament.
Ghana level with England at the top
The win lifts Ghana to the top of Group L alongside England, who beat Croatia 4-2 in the group’s other game on the same day. With Croatia and Panama both starting in defeat, the early shape of the group is set: England and Ghana in front, the other two already needing results.
Ghana will know they have to be far better than this to go deep. Panama showed they have the legs and the organisation to trouble anyone in the group, and on another day they take at least a point out of Toronto. But tournaments reward sides who find a way to win when they are second best, and Ghana have started by doing exactly that.