They say the World Cup does not truly begin until the underdog has had its day. For eighty nine minutes in that stifling heat, Panama looked every inc...
They say the World Cup does not truly begin until the underdog has had its day. For eighty nine minutes in that stifling heat, Panama looked every inch that romantic notion, a disciplined, organised unit ready to hold the Black Stars to a frustrating stalemate. Then, deep into the churn of stoppage time, Caleb Yirenkyi wrote a different ending.Let's be honest, this was not a performance that will have the bookmakers quaking in their boots. Ghana dominated possession, as you would expect against a side ranked considerably lower, but they faced a Panama side that had clearly done their homework. The Central Americans sat deep in a compact low block, invited Ghana to probe, and then simply refused to yield. Every cross was headed clear, every through ball was cut out. It was the kind of stubborn resistance that usually ends with a point gained and a celebrated back five.And yet, there is a cruelty to tournament football that Panama are now sadly acquainted with. Wendell, pouring forward from full back, clipped a hopeful ball into the mixer. It was a speculative effort, the kind you throw into the box when the clock has turned red and conventional wisdom has been abandoned. But Yirenkyi read it a split second faster. He peeled off his marker, met the ball with a crisp, swivelling volley, and sent the ball crashing into the roof of the net from close range. Bedlam in the stands. Agony on the touchline.For Ghana, this is the kind of win that builds character. It masks a worrying lack of fluidity in their transitional play and a bluntness in the final third that will need addressing against sterner opposition. But it also proves they have the stomach for the fight. Yirenkyi, until that moment a peripheral figure in the attacking third, produced a moment of clinical finishing that separates the dreamers from the contenders. Panama, for their part, can walk off the pitch with a furious sense of injustice, but also with the knowledge that they were mere seconds away from a famous result. That, in itself, is the cruelest part of all.
