2026 World Cup: Ghana breaks the opening match curse

17.06.26 FT World Cup

Ghana

1

:

Panama

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Ghana clinched a narrow victory over Panama on Thursday, edging out their opponents by the slimmest of margins in their opening Group L fixture at the World Cup.

This marks the Black Stars' fifth appearance at the World Cup finals, following their previous campaigns in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

Heading into the showdown with La Marea Roja, Ghana's record in World Cup openers stood at three defeats and only one win.

In 2006, Ghana fell 2-0 to Italy in their very first World Cup match. Four years later, they edged out Serbia 1-0 thanks to a decisive goal from Asamoah Gyan.

In 2014, the Black Stars again lost their opener, this time to the United States (1-2), before suffering another defeat in 2022 against Portugal (2-3).

In addition to Panama, Ghana will face England (June 23) and Croatia (June 27) in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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