W’Cup: Ghana beat Panama 1-0, Diaz leads Colombia past Uzbekistan in comfortable win

Ghana opened their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a dramatic late victory over Panama.

Ghana secured a hard-fought 1–0 victory in their opening Group L encounter in Toronto after a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Caleb Yirenkyi.

Yirenkyi bundled home in the fifth minute of added time to spark wild celebrations among Ghanaian supporters and hand the Black Stars maximum points in an intense and physical contest.

Panama started brightly and nearly opened the scoring inside two minutes, but striker Cecilio Waterman saw his effort denied by Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi.

Despite Ghana failing to register a shot on target in the first half, the game became more open after the break under persistent rain.

Panama came close through Cristian Martinez, whose strike found the side netting to the excitement of the Panamanian fans.

Just as the game appeared headed for a draw, Yirenkyi struck late to seal victory.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz celebrated with supporters after the decisive goal. The Portuguese tactician became only the second coach to appear at five consecutive World Cups.

Ghana played without Thomas Partey, who was unavailable for the tournament.

Diaz Inspires Colombia to Winning Start

In Group K action, Colombia defeated Uzbekistan 3–1 at the Estadio Azteca in a match inspired by an outstanding display from Luis Diaz.

The forward delivered an assist, scored once and hit the post as Colombia controlled key moments of the game.

Diaz created the opener with a superb lofted pass that allowed Daniel Munoz to volley home after 40 minutes.

Uzbekistan responded through Abbosbek Fayzullaev, who scored his country’s first-ever World Cup goal after reacting quickest to a rebound following a saved effort from Eldor Shomurodov.

Diaz restored Colombia’s advantage with a strike before Jaminton Campaz added a late third goal with a powerful header.

The result puts Colombia top of Group K ahead of rivals Portugal and Democratic Republic of the Congo, who earlier played out a 1–1 draw.