Panama head coach Thomas Christiansen shared his frustration after his team lost 1-0 to Ghana in a dramatic opening Group L match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto.
Panama seemed likely to earn a valuable point after playing with discipline and organization against the four-time African champions.
But in the 95th minute, Caleb Yirenkyi scored a late goal that gave Ghana all three points.
After the match, Christiansen said the way Panama lost made it even harder to accept, especially since his team played well for most of the game.
“It’s a very painful way to lose. We played an excellent first half, controlled the game, and dictated the tempo for long periods,” the Spanish-Danish coach said.
Panama enjoyed the better of the opening exchange. Panama started strong and managed to limit Ghana’s attacks in the first half. After the interval, with a series of substitutions helping to swing momentum in their favor.
Christiansen pointed to the sequence that led to GChristiansen highlighted the defensive mistakes that led to Ghana’s winning goal.d to halt a Ghanaian attack after committing to a sliding challenge, enabling the Black Stars to advance down the flank and deliver the cross that eventually resulted in Yirenkyi’s decisive strike.
The Panama coach said his players need to handle key moments better and show more determination when defending tough situations.
“In that final play, we needed to be more decisive. We had opportunities to commit tactical fouls and stop the attack, but we didn’t take them,” Christiansen explained.
He also questioned how the challenge before the goal was carried out.
“If you decide to go to ground, you have to either win the ball or stop the move completely. But now we have to move on, recover, and focus on the next game against Croatia,” he added.
Despite the loss, Christiansen told his players to stay positive and focus on their next Group L match on June 23.
Panama needs a good result against Croatia to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive.
Ghana celebrated a dramatic and memorable start to their World Cup, while Panama regretted a late mistake that cost them a point and led to one of the latest winning goals in the tournament so far.
