Caleb Yirenkyi scored a 95th-minute winner for Ghana as they beat Panama 1-0 in a dramatic finale to this Group L clash in Toronto.
Panama had proved more than a match for Carlos Queiroz’s team in what was a largely uneventful game as the skills of Antoine Semenyo were stifled by the Central American side who were looking to claim their first World Cup point at the fourth attempt.
Ghana did not even have a shot in a cautious first half. But it was they who found the winner when Coventry City’s Brandon Thomas-Asante, on as a substitute, found space down the left and found Yirenkyi with his low cross to force the ball into the net.
Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo celebrates the opening goal by his teammate Caleb Yirenkyi
The key moments from Toronto…
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2: Panama start brightly and Waterman forces an early save.
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58: Thomas-Asante comes on for Ghana and injects more urgency.
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60: Martinez shoots into the side-netting from close range for Panama.
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65: Ayew is set up by Semenyo for a tap-in but Ramos somehow tackles him.
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90+5: GOAL! Yirenkyi forces the ball home from close range to win the game.
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90+9: Goalkeeper Mosquera wins a header in the box as Panama chase an equaliser.
Analysis: Ghana punish Panama
It was cruel on Panama whose hopes of progression appear unlikely given that their remaining fixtures are against England and Croatia. For Ghana, they will need to improve. But scoring the latest winner of the World Cup so far is a moment to cherish.
“We battled like warriors,” said Queiroz. “We won the game with our brains. First we had to suffer against a great team. They know how to play. We knew they would control the game. But step by step, our strategy was to let them come. This is the way to win.”
