Ghana vs Panama Player Ratings

Ghana 1-0 Panama Player Ratings: Caleb Yirenkyi 8.1/10 Stoppage-Time Strike Breaks Panama Hearts and Fires Ghana Second in Group L

Mohit Tomar

Published - Jun 18, 2026, 02:01 AM

3 min

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Summary

Panama were the superior side for much of the contest and came agonisingly close to earning their first-ever World Cup point, yet Ghana's second-half urgency and Thomas-Asante's crucial impact off the bench proved the decisive difference in a match of extraordinary late drama.
Caleb Yirenkyi was the standout performer at 8.1/10 — his all-round midfield discipline, composure under the pressure of an early booking, and match-winning stoppage-time finish the defining contribution of a Ghana victory that could prove pivotal in determining who advances from Group L.

Football at the World Cup rarely gets more dramatic than this. For 90 minutes, Ghana and Panama produced a contest of genuine intensity and few clear openings, yet when the moment finally arrived, it arrived in the most spectacular, heart-stopping fashion imaginable. Caleb Yirenkyi's 95th-minute finish sent Toronto's BMO Field into absolute delirium and handed the Black Stars a victory their second-half urgency ultimately deserved.

The match had been a frustrating, largely goalless affair through much of its duration, Panama the better side in the first half, and the Ghana national football team improving considerably after the break as Thomas-Asante and Fatawu injected the energy and directness that had been so conspicuously absent. Semenyo's growing influence in the second half gave Ghana the creative platform they needed, and when Thomas-Asante slid the ball across goal in the dying seconds, Yirenkyi was perfectly positioned to force it over the line.

The late winner will matter enormously in the context of Group L. Ghana moves to three points and second place with England already leading the group following their 4-2 victory over Croatia earlier in the day. For the Panama national football team, who competed with real spirit and came close through Ramos and Martinez across a hard-fought 90 minutes, the final whistle brought pure, crushing heartbreak at what would have been their first-ever FIFA World Cup point. Here are Sportsdunia's Ghana vs Panama player ratings.

Ghana National Football Team Player Ratings vs Panama

Here are the Ghana national football team player ratings vs Panama.

Player Name	Ratings
Lawrence Ati Zigi	7.1
Marvin Senaya	7.2
Jonas Adjetey	7.7
Jerome Opoku	7.2
Gideon Mensah	6.9
Antoine Semenyo	6.2
Caleb Yirenkyi	8.1
Elisha Owusu	6.5
Ernest Nuamah	6.0
Kamaldeen Sulemana	6.3
Jordan Ayew	6.7

Panama National Football Team Player Ratings vs Ghana

Check out the Panama national football team player ratings vs Ghana.

Player Name	Ratings
Orlando Mosquera	6.0
Andrés Andrade	7.1
Jiovany Ramos	7.5
José Córdoba	6.5
Amir Murillo	7.7
Cristian Martínez	6.6
Carlos Harvey	6.4
César Blackman	6.8
Yoel Bárcenas	6.9
Cecilio Waterman	5.8
José Luis Rodríguez	6.0

Man of the Match

Caleb Yirenkyi's finish from Thomas-Asante's slide-rule cross was the perfect embodiment of a player who never stopped believing, arriving at the back post at the most critical moment of Ghana's entire World Cup campaign to deliver the three points that fire the Black Stars into second place in Group L.