Yirenkyi strikes in the 95th minute as Ghana break stubborn Panama

Caleb Yirenkyi pounced in the fifth minute of stoppage time at BMO Field to settle a tense Group L opener, as Ghana beat an organised Panama 1-0 without the injured Mohammed Kudus to open their World Cup with three precious points.

Ghana found their winner with almost the last kick at BMO Field in Toronto. Caleb Yirenkyi struck in the fifth minute of stoppage time, settling a tense Group L opener 1-0 and sending the Black Stars bench tumbling onto the pitch. For 95 minutes Panama had been the harder team to break down.

This was a grind. The first half closed goalless, and the longer the night wore on the heavier the air felt for Ghana. Panama are at their second World Cup, wiser than the side that lost all three games in Russia in 2018, and they treated this opener like a final.

Captain Aníbal Godoy, winning his 157th cap, anchored a back line that sat deep and dared Ghana to find a way through. Panama swallowed crosses and broke up play the second a Ghanaian touch ran a fraction long. Frustration crept into the West African side's passing.

Ghana chased this one without Mohammed Kudus, the Tottenham forward and Qatar 2022 hero whose quad injury ruled him out before a ball was kicked. That left Antoine Semenyo to carry the threat, and the Bournemouth man, fresh off a 17-goal Premier League season, kept probing. He drove at the full-back, won the set pieces, and refused to let the game drift toward a draw.

The breakthrough came when hope was nearly gone. Ghana kept the ball alive in the box deep into added time, the loose ball dropped, and Yirenkyi pounced to ram it home. Cue bedlam. Players sprinted to the corner flag, and a night of gritted teeth turned to pure release in a single second.

Three points changes the maths in a brutal group. Ghana sit among the early pacesetters in a Group L that also holds England and Croatia, and a draw here would have left almost no room for error. Win your opener and the whole tournament breathes differently. Panama, so close to a famous point, leave with nothing.

Wamlambez, tumeona maajabu usiku huu: we have seen wonders tonight. For fans watching past 4am EAT here in Kenya, the Black Stars delivered the kind of African resilience that keeps you glued to the screen. They were second best for long spells and still found a way.

Yirenkyi will not buy a drink in Accra for a while. Beyond the romance, this was a statement of stubbornness from a young Ghana squad rebuilding under Carlos Queiroz. For more on how the continent fared, see our Africa round-one verdict, and for Panama's side read the CONCACAF round-one verdict.