Five Things We Learned From Ghana 1-0 Panama

Five Things We Learned From Ghana 1-0 Panama

Ghana beat Panama 1-0 in the Toronto stadium thanks to a late goal from 20-year old wonderkid Caleb Yirenkyi.

The Black Stars got the job done despite the fact the goal may have gone against the run of play. Carlos Queiroz took charge of the side for only his second game.

Ghana now sit second in Group L, level on points with England, but the group still has all to play for.

Here are five things we learned from this evening's game.

1. Ghana Got Lucky

The Black Stars are without a win in 8 months. Despite qualifying for the World Cup, they faced embarrassment by failing to qualify for the most recent instalment of the AFCON.

A team steeped in history, with the nation being home to some of Africa's greats, today they looked completely off the mark. If it wasn't for late salvation, the picture would've been far less bright surrounding today's performance.

Ghana looked negative in attack, and were clumsy in defence. Manchester City's Antoine Semenyo was frozen out of the game on multiple occasions, and Jordan Ayew was unable to make anything happen from the centre-forward role.

The quality in the side is undeniable, and while new manager Carlos Queiroz only had one game in charge before the World Cup, the world expects more from the Black Stars.

While they got the result over the line today, if things don't change, Ghana will be looking at a group exit for the third time in a row. The side were grouped in Brazil 2014, they did not qualify for Russia 2018, and they were grouped again in Qatar 2022.

2. This Isn't the Same Panama

England fans will remember Panama fondly from the 2018 World Cup. Making their first tournament appearance in Russia, Panama were played off the park by the Three Lions in a 6-1 defeat.

Since then, Panama have grown leaps and bounds. Making only their second-ever World Cup appearance this time round, the side are currently ranked 34th in the world. Back in 2023, Panama reached the final of the Gold Cup, only to lose narrowly by one goal to Mexico.

Five players in the Panama side have over 100 caps for their nation, and that experience has come out to prove invaluable.

This is Panama's golden generation, and despite today's defeat, the side have a real chance at progressing to the knockout stages.

3. Carlos Queiroz Is An Icon

Regardless of when you started watching football, you'll probably be familiar with Carlos Queiroz.

In the early 2000s, Queiroz coached South Africa before joining Sir Alex Ferguson as his assistant manager for nearly a decade at Man United. The Portuguese coach also had a brief stint as head coach of Real Madrid during this time.

Since then, Queiroz has managed a flurry of clubs and has had varied success, but every four years he seems to turn up to the World Cup without fail.

This is the fourth World Cup in which the 73-year old has been a head coach of a national team in the competition. In 2010, he managed Portugal, in 2014 and 2022 he managed Iran, and now he is in the dugout for the Black Stars.

Africa, Europe, the UAE, or America. Somehow, Queiroz will always find a way to be on the biggest stage of them all.

4. Tactical Subs Are Everything

Despite coming out in the second half brighter than the first, Ghana still lacked that killer moment.

Carlos Queiroz noticed this quickly, with the 73-year old promptly making some attacking changes just before the hour mark. Ghana adopted a 4-2-4 formation in attack, and this changed their entire momentum.

In these peak summer conditions, fatigue sets in a lot faster for the players on the field, making subs more important than ever. From a tactical perspective, it makes them even more crucial.

The World Cup simply cannot be won by the eleven players that start on the pitch, it's the squad that gets you over the line.

5. It Rains?

Some might say our writer ran out of things to learn, while others may call him an analytical genius.

Despite the 18-degree warm weather in Toronto, fans were treated to light showers throughout the game. What your average fan wouldn't know, is this has a much bigger impact than you'd think on the field.

Often, the pitches at this World Cup have been criticised for being too dry, with sprinklers being used before, halfway through, and at the end of games to try and combat this. A bone dry pitch does not generate the most compelling football, and on top of this, it leaves players at a much higher risk of injury.

Despite the low score, this game was free-flowing and end-to-end in the second half as the rain pummelled down, and it was refreshing to see.

A moist pitch makes for a better game.