The Ghana Black Stars will begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a game against Panama at BMO Field, Toronto, Canada at 11pm GMT on June 17, 2026. Notable Ghanaian media televisions to broadcast the live match include GTV SPORTS+, TV3, JOYPRIME, and ADOM TV.
Match Analysis
Ghana and Panama are both in Group L together with England and Croatia. This will be the first time these two teams will come up against each other. However, at the World Cup, Ghana has faced a North American team—USA three times; 2006, 2010, and 2014, where Ghana won on the first two occasions and lost the third one. Panama, on the other hand, lost their only World Cup game against an African team 2-1 to Tunisia.
The Black Stars of Ghana, coming into this game, have lost five of their last six international friendly matches and drawn one. The Portuguese tactician, Carlos Queiroz, who has only been on the sidelines once in their friendly match against Wales, will be hoping to impress Ghanaian fans and supporters who want to see the Black Stars get back on winning ways.
Thomas Partey is said to miss this game after he was reportedly denied entry to Canada. However, Ghanaian officials have taken steps to make sure he is granted access to the country to play the match. Mohammed Kudus and Alexander Djiku are among the players who could not make the squad due to injury.
Match Predictions
According to the Opta supercomputer simulator, Panama has a 45.2% chance of winning, Ghana has a 29.6% chance to win, and a draw is at 25.2%.
Despite what the simulator says, the Black Stars look favorite to win this match. Even if they are without Partey, fans will love to see an in-form Antoine Semenyo—with 21 goal contributions in the EPL—and the exciting Ernest Nuamah, who impressed in the friendly against Wales when he came on as a substitute and played like a player who had a lot of game time. And then there is the talented youngster Caleb Yirenkyi, who scored his first goal for Ghana against Wales.
But football, as they say, does not tell the truth. Who would have thought Saudi Arabia would defeat Argentina in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, or Ghana drawing a game they were leading by two goals up in the 88th minute to Mozambique in the 2023 AFCON?