World Cup 2026: Black Stars showed strength and patience to beat Panama – Jordan Ayew

Black Stars captain Jordan Ayew has praised the team’s second-half performance in their 1-0 victory over Panama at the BMO Field in Toronto on Wednesday.

Carlos Queiroz’s charges snatched the all-important win in the 95th minute through debutant Caleb Yirenkyi after a difficult first half. After the disappointing opening period, Ghana grew in confidence and fought together as a team to secure all three points.

The former Crystal Palace forward believes the team showed strength, which proved pivotal in the second half.

“The first half didn’t go as planned, but we were patient. They kept the ball well and we soaked up the pressure. We looked more composed and direct. In the second half a lot changed — we grew in confidence and kept possession much better,” he told ghanafa.org.

READ ALSO: World Cup 2026: Ghana stuns Panama with 95th-minute winner

“The substitutions helped because we knew we had to show our strength. The energy level was very high. We played better, we were more aggressive, we fought together as a team and scored the winning goal in the dying minutes. That’s all that matters.”

Ghana will play giants England in their next game on Tuesday, 23rd June 2026. However, the Black Stars are likely to miss the services of their first-choice goalkeeper, Lawrence Ati-Zigi, due to an injury he sustained in the Panama game.

Ati-Zigi trained with his colleagues on Saturday, but snippets of information suggest he is ruled out of the England clash.