By SCM Sport Reporter at Toronto Stadium
IT WAS ugly, it was chaotic, and for the opening 45 minutes, it was an absolute stinker. But Carlos Queiroz’s modern Black Stars proved they have the golden touch when it matters most, snatching a dramatic 1-0 victory over heartbroken Panama in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Manchester City sensation Antoine Semenyo was the undisputed spark that lit up a sodden night in Toronto.
Named FIFA’s Player of the Match, the Premier League winger carried Ghana on his back when they failed to register a single shot in a dreadful first half—becoming the first team in this year’s tournament to suffer that particular stat of shame.
Panama’s “Canal Men” completely dictated the early tempo with an authoritative three-two-five shape that left Ghana chasing shadows. In the second minute, Ghana’s starting keeper Lawrence Ati Zigi was forced into a stunning dive to deny Cecilio Waterman’s stinging fifteen-yard volley.
Ati Zigi put his body on the line so fiercely he was substituted at half-time due to injury. Replacement goalie Benjamin Asare then survived a major scare when a weak punch fell to Jiovany Ramos, who inexplicably blasted wide from fourteen yards out.
But top managers earn their coin at World Cups, and veteran boss Carlos Queiroz—coaching at a record-equaling fifth consecutive finals—twisted the plot. He unleashed his English football contingent.
Jordan Ayew provided the aerial muscle up top, while substitutes Abdul Fatawu and Brandon Thomas-Asante injected pure adrenaline into the side.
As the match ticked into the 95th minute and fans prepared for a drab goalless stalemate, the Premier League class told. A sweeping counterattack saw Thomas-Asante burst down the left flank, drive with menacing intent into the eighteen-yard box, and square a beautiful pass across the face of goal.
There was debutant Caleb Yirenkyi, arriving right on cue to bundle the ball home for his first-ever international goal. Cue absolute bedlam. The Toronto Stadium exploded, a furious on-pitch melee broke out, and Panama were left utterly ruined.
The smash-and-grab victory puts Ghana level on points with England at the top of Group L. Panama played the better football, but in the World Cup, it’s the stars who write the headlines.
