Ghana vs Panama prediction, tips and odds | World Cup 2026

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Ghana and Panama meet for the first time in international football as both sides open their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L campaign at Toronto Stadium, kicking off at midnight BST on Wednesday 17 June.

With England and Croatia sharing the group, both nations know that this is their most winnable fixture of the first stage – and that dropping points here could make qualifying from Group L a significantly harder task.

Preview: Ghana vs Panama

Ghana booked their place at this World Cup as convincing winners of CAF Group I, securing eight wins from ten qualifiers with one draw and one defeat, registering 23 goals and conceding six in the process.

Captain Jordan Ayew was the driving force throughout that campaign, contributing seven goals and seven assists across the ten matches. The Leicester City forward now arrives at his third World Cup with 120 international caps and 34 goals for the Black Stars.

The pre-tournament mood has been far less settled, however. Carlos Queiroz took charge only in April 2026 – brought in after Otto Addo left following friendly defeats to Austria (5-1) and Germany (2-1) in March – and Ghana have not won in six matches since sealing qualification.

That run of poor results has offered some encouragement for the opposition, but the football betting markets still favour Ghana here given their superior individual quality in attack. Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao) and Ernest Nuamah (Lyon) give Queiroz genuine wide threats capable of creating problems at World Cup level.

However, Ghana have scored just three goals and conceded 11 in their five most recent games, a double fragility that Queiroz has not yet had time to address, and much will depend on how well the team absorbs the new manager’s structure ahead of their first competitive fixture under his charge.

Panama reached only their second World Cup finals after an unbeaten qualifying campaign in CONCACAF, finishing with seven wins and three draws from ten matches – 19 goals scored, five conceded.

Thomas Christiansen has been in charge since 2020, and the Danish-born boss has built a well-organised side that defends in a compact 5-4-1 shape when without the ball, transitioning into a 3-4-2-1 in possession as the wing-backs push forward.

The 6-2 defeat to Brazil at the Maracana at the end of May raised questions about how Panama handle elite-level pressure, though they did level the score to 1-1 before the Selecao pulled clear, and a more commendable 4-2 win over the Dominican Republic and a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina rounded off the preparation period.

Ismael Diaz and Jose Fajardo are the joint-leading scorers among the current Panama squad, each with 17 international goals, but both operate in leagues well below the level of their Ghana counterparts, and against a properly motivated Black Stars side, Panama’s attacking limitations in open play may prove their undoing.

The Canal Men’s FIFA ranking of 34th – nearly 40 places above Ghana at 73rd – largely reflects their consistent performances within CONCACAF rather than results against top European, South American or African opposition, and fans will recall that their sole World Cup appearance in 2018 ended with three defeats from three, to Belgium (3-0), England (6-1) and Tunisia (2-1).

Team news: Ghana vs Panama

Ghana

The biggest setback for Ghana is the absence of Thomas Partey. The Villarreal midfielder, who has 57 caps and 15 international goals, has been denied entry to Canada by the Canadian government due to pending criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.

Partey is expected to rejoin the squad for Ghana’s remaining group games against England in Foxborough and Croatia in Philadelphia, but without the former Arsenal man in Toronto, the central midfield axis falls to Kwasi Sibo and Elisha Owusu as the double pivot, while Caleb Yirenkyi – who scored the opener in the 1-1 draw against Wales – holds his position at right midfield rather than shifting inside.

Defender Jerome Opoku is a doubt following the muscle issue he picked up in the Black Stars’ Wales friendly, though Abdul Mumin of Rayo Vallecano is in line to replace him in the back three if he cannot be passed fit.

Queiroz otherwise has a full complement of options available to him in attack, with Semenyo, Williams, Fatawu, Sulemana and Nuamah all available to add width and pace from wide positions.

Panama

Panama’s most significant doubt is Adalberto Carrasquilla, widely considered the best player in the squad. The Pumas UNAM midfielder has 73 international caps but missed all three of Panama’s warm-up games with an injury, though he was spotted training with the group on Sunday, which raises the possibility of a bench role in Toronto.

Captain Anibal Godoy missed the friendly against Brazil but he returned to team training more than a week ago, so expect to see the 36-year-old San Diego FC midfielder start alongside Cristian Martinez in central midfield, as he has done throughout the Christiansen era.

Goalkeeper Luis Mejia has also been training with the Panama squad after recovering from a muscle tear, and while he is the likely starter ahead of Orlando Mosquera, the latter could fill in as he did during the friendly fixtures if the 35-year-old shot-stopper is not ready to make the lineup.

Christiansen should maintain his trusted 3-4-2-1 structure, with Jose Cordoba of Norwich City as the central defensive anchor, and Murillo and Eric Davis as the wing-backs who provide width in both phases of play.

Ghana vs Panama predicted XIs

Ghana predicted XI (3-4-2-1): B Asare; K Peprah Oppong, J Adjetey, J Opoku; G Mensah, K Sibo, E Owusu, C Yirenkyi; A Semenyo, J Ayew; I Williams. Manager: Carlos Queiroz.

Panama predicted XI (3-4-2-1): L Mejia; A Andrade, C Harvey, J Ramos; A Murillo, C Martinez, A Godoy, E Davis; I Diaz, J Rodriguez; C Waterman. Manager: Thomas Christiansen.

Head-to-head: Ghana vs Panama

Ghana and Panama have never previously met in international football, and Wednesday’s game at Toronto Stadium will be their first encounter.

In the absence of any head-to-head history, Panama’s recent record makes for better reading: Thomas Christiansen’s side have taken two wins and two draws from their last five outings and scored ten goals across those fixtures. Ghana, by contrast, are winless in six, and have managed just three goals in their most recent five, conceding 11 times.

However, Panama’s 6-2 defeat to Brazil hinted at defensive vulnerabilities that could be exposed at World Cup level, while Ghana’s two most damaging pre-tournament defeats – 5-1 against Austria and 2-1 against Germany – came when facing stronger opposition than Panama are likely to provide.

Ghana have qualified for the World Cup five times including their debut in 2006, with their best performance a quarter-final appearance in South Africa in 2010, when they were eliminated on penalties by Uruguay. Panama’s sole previous World Cup, in Russia in 2018, ended with three defeats – they lost to Belgium, England and Tunisia.

Both sides enter the tournament aware that their strongest opportunity for points in Group L lies in this match against each other.

Our Ghana vs Panama prediction and tips