It took until the 95th minute, but Ghana finally broke Panama’s hearts in Toronto, snatching a late victory and denying the Central Americans what would have been their first-ever World Cup point.

With six minutes of injury time added to a match that had offered very few clear chances, Brandon Thomas-Asante found a burst of late energy. The forward surged down the left flank, beat his marker, and squared a perfect ball across the face of goal for Caleb Yirenkyi, who made no mistake with the tap-in.

It was incredibly harsh on Panama. Playing in only their fourth World Cup match since making their tournament debut in 2018, they went toe-to-toe with the four-time African champions for nearly the entire game.

Ghana had to navigate the match without key midfielder Thomas Partey. The Arsenal man was blocked from entering Canada due to ongoing legal proceedings in the United Kingdom.

The Black Stars will now head to Boston on Tuesday for a heavyweight Group L clash against leaders England. Panama remain in Toronto, where they will try to dust themselves down and break their World Cup losing streak against Croatia on Wednesday.

–ChannelAfrica–