Ghana vs Panama Preview: Team News & Prediction | FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group Stage
The second game in Group L, which also consists of two strong sides in England and Croatia, sees Ghana take on Panama at BMO Field in Toronto in Canada.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – ITV / USA – FOX Sports
How to watch online: UK – ITVX / USA – FOX One
Ghana preview: Queiroz’s Ghanaians
Ghana parted company with manager Otto Addo earlier this year, a decision that was perhaps surprising to some, replacing him with former Real Madrid and Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz in The Black Stars' dugout.
The Ghanaians come into this one on the back of beginning their calendar year with defeats to Austria, Germany and Mexico. That means they have suffered five successive defeats after confirming qualification for FIFA World Cup 2026 in October, but their final warm-up game was a 1-1 draw with Wales.
Ghana head into the tournament on the back of a couple of underwhelming performances in qualification, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat to Mexico before then sharing a 1-1 draw with Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium, conceding a 94th minute equaliser in that game.
Panama preview: Awkward opposition
Panama, under the management of former Leeds United boss Thomas Christiansen, were fairly emphatic in their CONCACAF qualification for FIFA World Cup 2026, finishing comfortably clear of El Salvador, Guatemala and Suriname in the third round of qualifying.
The Panamanians enjoyed a mixed 2025, which began with a CONCACAF Nations League semi-final defeat of USA before then being edged out by Mexico in the final and then succumbing to a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Honduras.
Panama's pre-tournament friendlies have seen them succumb to a 6-2 hammering at the hands of Brazil before a fun 4-2 win over the Dominican Republic and then a 1-1 draw with a similarly rated Bosnia and Herzegovina side.
Ghana team news: No Partey
Former Arsenal defensive midfielder Thomas Partey, now of Villarreal, is a key man for Ghana but he is set to miss their opening game after being denied a visa to enter into Canada, with the game taking place in Toronto.
Key defender Alexander Djiku has had to withdraw from the squad due to injury and that is a major blow with Carlos Queiroz going with a back three shape in the build-up and likely to stick with that in the tournament itself.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Ati-Zigi; Opoku, Peprah Oppong, Seidu; Senaya, Owusu, Yirenkyi, Baba Rahman; Semenyo, Ayew, Nuamah
Unavailable: Partey (Ineligible)
Questionable:
Panama team news: Seemingly fully fit
At the time of writing, it appears as though the Panamanians have a fully fit and available squad for their opening game against the Ghanaians in Canada.
Panama have an experienced core and that is built upon goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera and defender Michael Amir Murillo, with Panama's all-time appearance maker Anibal Godoy the middle of the park. Adalberto Carrasquilla missed the pre-tournament friendlies due to injury but has since returned to training and could be involved.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Mosquera; Murillo, Cordoba, Andrade; Blackman, Godoy, Carrasquilla, Davis; Diaz, J. Rodriguez; Fajardo
Unavailable:
Questionable: Carrasquilla (Fitness)
Ghana’s top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Lawrence Ati-Zigi ($3.8m) – Goalkeeper
Antoine Semenyo ($7.2m) – Forward
Inaki Williams ($5.9m) – Forward
Matchday 1 captain pick: Antoine Semenyo
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Jordan Ayew
Free kicks: Jordan Ayew
Corners: Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana
Panama’s top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Michael Murillo ($5.0m) – Defender
Adalberto Carrasquilla ($6.5m) – Midfielder
Jose Fajardo ($4.7m) – Forward
Matchday 1 captain pick: Michael Murillo
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Ismael Diaz, Eric Davis
Free kicks: Amir Murillo, Adalberto Carrasquilla
Corners: Jose Luis Rodriguez, Adalberto Carrasquilla
Key stats
- Ghana’s qualification for FIFA World Cup 2026 means that they have reached five out of six editions of the global showpiece since making their debut in 2006.
- The Black Stars made it through to the knockout phase on their debut in 2006, where they were defeated by the defending champions Brazil in the round of 16. Four years later, they went one step further and progressed through to the quarter-finals and were only eliminated in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay.
- Asamoah Gyan became the top African goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history when he scored for Ghana in 2014 against Portugal. Overall, the striker scored six goals for his nation at the finals, and found the net at three successive editions of the FIFA World Cup (2006, 2010 and 2014).
- In four FIFA World Cup appearances, Ghana have begun with defeat on three occasions. The only time they started with a victory was in 2010, edging Serbia 1-0.
- Ghana’s Carlos Queiroz is coaching at his fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup, having previously led Portugal in 2010 and IR Iran in 2014, 2018 and 2022. He is only the second coach to appear at five straight tournaments, after Bora Milutinovic (1986–2002). Only Carlos Alberto Parreira (six) and Milutinovic (five) have coached in as many editions.
- Panama have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the second time, having made their debut at the 2018 finals.
- Panama’s maiden campaign ended after the group stage following defeats to Belgium and England, both of whom went on to reach the semi-finals. In their final match, Panama led Tunisia 1-0 at half-time before conceding two second-half goals.
- Jordan Ayew is featuring in his third FIFA World Cup, equalling the Ghana record jointly held by Andre Ayew, Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari.
- At 34 years 279 days, Jordan Ayew could become the oldest player to make a FIFA World Cup appearance for Ghana, surpassing Denis Odoi, who was 34 years 185 days when he faced Korea Republic on 28/11/2022.
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Ghana vs Panama prediction
As they have shown in CONCACAF competitions, such as last year's aforementioned CONCACAF Nations League, Panama can be very effective and difficult to beat with a familiarity of conditions being quite helpful - and that should come in handy this summer, too. Ghana have more pedigree and quality in their squad, with some real stars in the final third, and so will fancy themselves to score, but the resilience and awkwardness of their Central American opponents suggests an even contest. The Ghanaians are enduring some tough goings on off the pitch but still boast the most attacking quality out of the two, while Panama showed some proactivity in their pre-tournament friendlies - and so it may be quite a good watch for the neutral.
Ghana vs Panama betting tip: Both teams to score
