Ghana Snatch Last-Gasp Winner Against Panama as Fans Boo Hydration Breaks in Rain
If Ghana’s 1-0 win against Panama was anything to go by, England and Croatia have little to worry about in Group L of this World Cup.
Shortly after England beat Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling match at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the other two teams in their group played out a low-quality game featuring very few chances in the rain in Toronto.
Ghana’s finishing was woeful at BMO Place, and it took a chance from three yards out in front of an open goal in the 95th minute for them to find a way past Panama. Caleb Yirenkyi just about managed it when the ball looped off his right foot and into the back of the net. It was the latest winning goal at this World Cup so far.
The hydration breaks were booed in rainy conditions in Toronto, as some supporters and photographers wore ponchos to try to stay dry. Empty seats were visible on television coverage of the game, but FIFA said they were only 94 seats short of capacity (42,942 of 43,036).
Amy Lawrence, Jacob Whitehead and Julian McKenzie analyse the key talking points…
Do England or Croatia have anything to fear?
In a nutshell, not on this evidence.
Following in the footsteps of the two established European competitors in Group L, this game was played with a heavier touch. This is not a vintage Ghana set-up. They are 72nd in the FIFA rankings. Even if their vice-captain Thomas Partey does return to the line-up having been denied a visa to travel to Canada for this fixture, there was a general lack of clarity required to upset strong opponents.
In the end they found a way to win. Semenyo, their main man, had broadly been too peripheral but one moment of quality was enough to unlock the game, freeing up Brandon Thomas-Asante to find the youngster Yirenkyi with a lung-busting run to the far post.
Elating? Yes. Convincing? No.
Panama played with admirable spirit and intensity. Their enthusiasm was not matched by enough ruthlessness, however, and the general approach to shooting in this game by both teams was wild.
There have been enough surprises in the first round of games, with Spain and Portugal demonstrating that wins are far from guaranteed when the odds were massively in their favour. It would need an uptick in quality and discipline for either Ghana or Panama to make an impression in the tougher assignments to come.
Amy Lawrence
All Ghana needed was a chance from three yards out in front of an open goal
For much of the game, Ghana appeared to be doing their best not to score. This was a game of limited chances, chances which when they did come, Carlos Queiroz’s side did their best to spurn.
Going into the closing minutes of the match, their expected goals (xG) tally was just 0.24 (the number of goals that a side should score based on shot location), but their expected goals on target (xGOT, a metric which calculates how likely a side are to score based on the quality of the shot itself) was just 0.05.
Going into the 94th minute, just two of Ghana’s seven shots had been on target. Panama, for their part, were just as wasteful — with just two of eight shots on target themselves.
On a day of bad shooting, perhaps the most egregious attempt had come from Yirenkyi, whose shot at the start of the second half was last seen sailing somewhere near the spike of the CN Tower. But it’s funny how these things work.
In the final throes of the game, Brandon Thomas-Asante drove the ball across goal — finding Yirenkyi unmarked on the Panamanian goalline. The 20-year-old mishit his strike — but from only a few yards out, the ball still looped into the net.
The latest winning goal of this World Cup so far, it was an ugly way to win an ugly game; at least it had consistency.
Jacob Whitehead
Did they really need the hydration breaks?
Typically, hydration breaks are needed for warmer, damn near scorching, temperature games as a way to keep players cool. But they’ve been the story of this World Cup because of how prominent they’ve been featured on the world stage regardless of location and temperature.
Case in point, Ghana and Panama played under rainy conditions throughout at BMO Place.
But hydration breaks were called in the first and second half, to a sea of boos from tens of thousands packed in Toronto. Photographers and supporters were wearing ponchos to fend off the rain. Drummers and cymbalists were dampened as they played to keep the crowd entertained.
Considering how broadcasters, like TSN in Canada, have used these breaks as opportunities to show advertisements, they’re likely here to stay and could permanently alter how we view football games as a result.
Julian McKenzie
Were the stars more off the pitch than on it?
It is hard to say how often a Ghanaian and Panamanian cross paths outside of an event as particular as the World Cup. All day in Toronto there were cross-cultural exchanges, and a collaborative song started up where they all sang “Ghana Panama” together.
Being honest, neither of these teams have huge hopes of going far in this tournament. So it becomes about a different kind of experience. As an expression of national pride and identity, the Ghana and Panama supporters in attendance were absolutely elated to see their team and show off their colours. On foreign soil these opportunities do not come around too often.
Ghana’s supporters congregated, danced, and it was impossible not to be swept along. Due to the difficulties getting visas, authorisation and the considerable funds to travel from Africa to north America, this was a meeting point for the more locally based representatives of their national culture – a corner of Toronto turned into a slice of Ghanaian life.
The Panama supporters were there in greater numbers, and when the unofficial national anthem — Patria, meaning ‘homeland’ — was sung the lyrics spoke deeply to the sentiments of supporters from so many nations at this World Cup whose crowds are made up of their diaspora.
“Homeland, so many beautiful things. They are the walls of a neighbourhood. It’s their brown hope: it’s what everyone carries in their soul when they leave.”
The match might not have been the most memorable but the occasion was worth it.
Amy Lawrence