Ghana 1-0 Panama: World Cup 2026 – live

And here’s the match report from tonight’s game:

So what else do we have for your entertainment at this hour?

First, see how a half-time speech rallied England in their lively game against Croatia.

For US fans, the worry over Christian Pulisic is growing. Dismissed as something minor after he was removed at halftime in the win over Paraguay. his injury has limited training for a few days now. Jeff Rueter says the team must be considering other options.

And in a bit less than 45 minutes, we’ll see the 47th. 48th teams of this World Cup, Uzbekistan and Colombia. Jonathan Howcroft is in the commentator’s chair. Enjoy, and I’ll see you for another game soon.

A draw would’ve done neither team much good. England and Croatia showed lethal attacks in their match earlier today. Advancing to the knockout rounds will certainly require three points and solid goal difference, or maybe four points. Taking only one from the match would’ve left each team seeking a win over England or Croatia,. that’s a lot to ask.

Instead. Ghana will know they just need to pick up a point to be virtually assured a spot in the round of 499. I mean, the round of 32. Still a tall order but not impossible.

Can the player of the match be a goalkeeper who had to leave the match at halftime? This would have been a completely different game if Lawrence Ati-Zigi hadn’t made a big save very early in the game. then bravely collected a couple of crosses. He absorbed a bit too much contact and had to leave the game in Benjamin Asare’s capable hands.

If not Ati-Zigi, my pick would be Brandon Thomas-Asante, the Coventry City midfielder who made incisive runs through several parts of the field. wound up putting the ball on a platter for the game-winning tap-in.

Any ill will from the late confrontation seems to have dissipated. We see only respectful handshakes.

A fair result in the end, as Panama’s attack fell to pieces in the second half. the Black Stars kept chipping away and asking more difficult questions of Panama’s defense.

90 min +12 Wait … 12? Yes, we’ve had some stoppages in stoppage time, but six additional minutes?

90 min +9 CHANCE FOR PANAMA, and it’s the goalkeeper Mosquera, up into the fray, who heads it down. It bounces up for Diaz, who heads it on goal but can’t get much on it. Asare grabs the ball, and Harvey isn’t able to hold back as he was in mid-kick. He makes contact with Asare, and we have a confrontation between the teams. Harvey gets a yellow card.

Asare stays down for a while. Remember – he came in for Ati-Zigi, who kept Panama off the board in the first half.

90 min +8 It’s a foul. Well, it’s probably not, as Cordoba was going to ground well before any contact was even thought of. Free kick from near the sideline.

90 min +7 The referee is displeased with the kickoff. Take it again.

They dump it back to one player while nine players rush forward. The long ball finds non one, but they win a throw-in.

Panama line up eight players on the kickoff,. we’re waiting for Yirenkyi to change his jersey under the ref’s orders.

That was unexpected.

Thomas-Asante is open on the left, and he coolly dribbles into the side of the penalty area. He puts the ball across the top of the 6,. while the first attacker can’t steer it in while being defender, Yirenkyi has a tap-in.

90 min +4 Good tackle for Panama, and off they go. To midfield. Then a hopeful ball down the flank to Diaz. He lays it off, and the ball is crossed to absolutely no one.

90 min +3 Thomas-Asante has the ball amid a circle of Panamanian defenders. He manages to work the ball out to the right. where Ghana win a throw-in … then play it back to midfield.

We couldn’t be seeing a cautious end to this one, could we?

90 min +2 Corner for Panama. Easily headed clear.

90 min +1 We will have the obligatory six minutes of stoppage time. That’s been a pretty steady number during this Cup, hasn’t it?

90 min SHOT FOR GHANA and it’s their best chance forcing a big save from … never mind. The flag goes up late on Thomas-Asante.

Panama sub: Blackman out, and it’s the longtime captain and San Diego FC player Godoy coming in.

89 min That’s not a foul? Ghanaian fans are incensed, and they may have a point. That looked like a strong nudge to the back of an attacking player in full flight.

87 min Murillo again squares up with a defender. This time, he passes back to Barcenas at the top of the arc. He fires the ball several feet high.

For Ghana: Adu replaces Ayew. That’s Prince Adu. Not Freddy Adu.

86 min Credit the Panamanian defense – they’re aggressively blocking passes and disrupting Ghana.

85 min Shot for Diaz, but he had to do a 180-degree turn from an awkward position,. it skips to Asare.

84 min A tactical wizard may be able to find some compelling reason why Panama’s passing game has degenerated,. it seems that many of their passes simply aren’t going anywhere near their targets. They were much sharper in the first half hour.

82 min A promising Panamanian counterattack ends with a ball that is chipped up into the air like a golfer in a sand trap who gets under it. sends it in a slow, sad arc to another part of the sand trap.

Panama win it back, and our referee makes an intelligent advantage call, but Panama again pass poorly.

81 min Ghana have possession deep in Panama’s half again, but they lose it quickly off their own throw-in.

80 min Panama have abandoned the press. Ghana can kick it around with impunity.

77 min Any predictions as to whether we’ll see a goal in this one? It’s not completely without interest, but neither team has shown much offensive aptitude here.

Sub for Ghana: Owusu is out. Sibo is in. He plays for Oviedo.

76 min Andrade fires a diagonal ball to the center of the 6-yard box, but it’s ahead of his teammates,. Asare collects to stop the Panama attack.

75 min Ayew loses the ball near the end line and fouls. Ghana’s attackers seem to get quite upset when dispossessed.

74 min Murillo can’t find a way past a defender, so he opts to chip the ball over the crossbar. Impatient.

Ismael Diaz enters, replacing Rodriguez.

73 min Adjetey sends a header wide off the free kick.

Now Panama move forward.

72 min Fatawu gets a step on Blackman, and the Panamanian defender fouls out of desperation. That’s a yellow card and a free kick a few yards outside the upper corner of the penalty area.

71 min Semenyo shoots (or is it a cross?). Mosquera makes his best play of the day to throw his body on it. Ghana’s good run of form continues.

“Just think it’s worth pointing out, the refereeing in almost every match so far has kept the action flowing brilliantly; very rarely falling for the usual play-acting, they are allowing physical contact to occur. generally giving the benefit of the doubt to tackles etc. It has meant matches have been played at a high pace, with momentum building up. players generally getting back to their feet quickly as soon as they realize they haven’t bought a foul. Loving it.” – Joe Neate

As a referee who can barely keep up with Under-14s, I appreciate it, too.

67 min SHOT FOR PANAMA. Ghana give the ball away too easily,. Ramos hits a low curling shot from the top of the penalty arc that misses the left post by only a few inches.

66 min Ghana’s ascendancy continues, even as a player is down after a shout for a foul that went ignored.

Rodriguez squanders a promising possession at the other end.

65 min CHANCE FOR GHANA! Thomas-Asante puts a near-perfect cross at the top of the 6-yard box, and Mosquera is again nowhere near it. But Ayew, under a bit of pressure, can’t turn the ball into the net.