The hope of the African continent achieving success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is far from lost.
This comes after Ghana became the second African nation to cause a major upset at the global showpiece, defeating Panama 1-0 in their opening Group L match.
Ironically, despite Panama being ranked 34th in the FIFA World Rankings compared to Ghana’s 73rd position in the world and 14th in Africa, it was the
Black Stars, who had the last laugh.
The decisive moment came in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time when Caleb Yirenkyi scored the winning goal. The 20-year-old central midfielder, who plays for Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, latched onto a well-timed pass from Brandon Thomas-Asante inside the penalty area. He then cut inside his marker before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net to hand the Black Stars, coached by Carlos Queiroz, a dramatic 1-0 victory.
Ghana are the second African team to win their opening match at this year’s World Cup. Côte d’Ivoire were the first after stunning Ecuador 1-0 in the early hours of Monday, June 15. Amad Diallo scored the decisive goal deep into stoppage time in the Group E encounter played at Philadelphia Stadium in Pennsylvania, USA.
So far, four African nations — Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Egypt and Morocco — have held their own against some of the world’s best teams by securing draws in their opening matches.
Cape Verde surprised Spain with a 1-1 draw, while DR Congo and Egypt also earned 1-1 draws against Portugal and Belgium, respectively. Morocco likewise shared the spoils with Brazil after a spirited performance.
The African continent has 10 representatives at this year’s expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup, with the tournament set to conclude on July 19 when a new world champion is crowned
