The Black Stars have arrived in Toronto ahead of their opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Panama today, Wednesday 17 June 2026, at BMO Field (Toronto Stadium).
Ghana touched down on Monday afternoon after completing their final phase of preparations in the United States, where the team has been based since their international friendly against Wales in Cardiff earlier this month.
Head coach Carlos Queiroz and his technical team used the training camp to sharpen tactics, improve fitness levels, and build cohesion within the squad, with all 26 players participating fully in training sessions.
Encouragingly, Ghana heads into the tournament with a clean bill of health and no injury concerns.
The Black Stars held their official training session at BMO Field on Tuesday evening as they put the finishing touches to preparations for the Group L encounter.
Wednesday’s clash, set for a 11:00 p.m. GMT kick-off, will mark Ghana’s fifth appearance at the FIFA World Cup and the first-ever senior international meeting between Ghana and Panama.
The Black Stars will be aiming to make a strong start to their campaign before turning their attention to a highly anticipated second group match against England at Gillette Stadium in Boston on June 23.
Though not on the same level as the political drama series playing out in the backdrop of the 2026 World Cup as a result of the United States of America’s war with Iran, the 2018 FIFA World Cup had major political characteristics written all over it.
Perhaps the reason for the understated political tone for the 2018 edition was down to Russia hosting the competition almost four full years after annexing Crimea compared to the United States hosting this year’s tournament in the heat of the Iran-US war though at the time of writing, a peace deal has been reached.
Looking at the multiple times, US President Donald Trump has stated that a deal had been struck with Iran only for the opposite to be true, the latest version of “we’ve struck a deal- in Trump’s voice” should definitely be taken with a big grain of salt.
In Russia in 2018, one of Africa’s representatives and easily its best, Senegal, missed out on progressing to the round of 16 stage.
The Teranga Lions’ elimination meant that no African nation made it beyond the group phase but unlike the others, Senegal’s elimination wasn’t down to tallying few points but on disciplinary grounds.
After playing out a 2-2 draw nullifying the head-to-head advantage and locked on the same points, goals scored and goals conceded, there was no separation of Senegal and Japan but the yellow cards count. Japan receiving four yellow cards in comparison to Senegal’s six yellow cards proved to be the difference that got Japan through to the next stage and Senegal out of the competition.
As if things couldn’t get any worse for Ghana at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Thomas Partey is very likely to miss the Black Stars opening game against Panama and that further dampens Ghana’s chances of earning a win over Panama and realistically be half way through securing a qualification spot to the Round of 32 stage.
Prior to Partey’s visa denial by the Canadian Ministry of Immigration, the handlers of the Black Stars failed to secure a friendly game beyond the 1-1 draw with Wales which ultimately means Ghana will play against Panama undercooked. For the sake of context, Panama have played three friendlies ahead of the game against Ghana recording a loss to Brazil, a win over Dominican Republic and a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovnia.
Speaking of the playing squad, Ghana has qualified to compete at five World Cups and it is fair to say, this year’s unit is the weakest in overall squad quality. This is easy to note considering the perpetual strongest part of Ghana’s playing unit, its midfield, is considerably weak compared to the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022.
Alexander Djiku (23) joins Black Stars to celebrate win over Mali Photo Courtesy: Ghana Sports Ministry
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Looking at the aforementioned issues raised, there are several excuses to point at should Ghana suffer an early elimination from the tournament but a common thread in the challenges highlighted above is that they lie outside the team’s control.
Josh Sheehan of Wales is challenged by Thomas Partey of Ghana during the international friendly match between Wales and Ghana (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
On the flip side, there is one major issue that could get Ghana eliminated at the group stage and lies within the control of the team and that is discipline. Just like Senegal, Ghana’s qualification chances could get scratched off because of a high level of accumulated yellow cards.
Jerome Opoku of Ghana during the international friendly match between Wales and Ghana (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Jerome Opoku has 72 yellow cards in 219 games in his career, Derrick Luckassen has 72 yellow cards in 248 games while Alidu Seidu and Jonas Adjetey do collect a fair number of yellow cards.
This unit represents three of five defensive options of the Black Stars and more dangerously, Ghana could be without their service come Game Three against Croatia where the Black Stars may be in desperate need of a win to progress.
Derrick Luckassen of Ghana looks on during the international friendly match between Germany and Ghana at MHP Arena (Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
The opening game of this year’s World Cup showed how important discipline or the lack of it, will play in determining which nations progress to the next round and which nations don’t.
Three red cards in the opening game including one to a co-host nation’s player-Cesar Montes- in the final minutes of a game that was already won over an infringement that arguably didn’t deserve that kind of attention, shows how game officials have taken a hardline to handle games in the World Cup.
Referee Wilton Sampaio issues a red card to Sphephelo Sithole #13 of South Africa during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Mexico and South Africa (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
After toiling away in the heat of the Russian summer period, it was truly heartbreaking for Senegal to miss out on qualifying from the group stage not on points or wins but on yellow cards’ count, it is very likely Ghana suffers the same fate should the Black Stars fail to pay attention to staying disciplined.
Shot from Black Stars training session Photo Courtesy: GFA
While all looks lost for the Black Stars given the trying circumstances the Black Stars have been handed, there is enough quality in Carlos Queiroz’s team to defy its low ranking to make it past the group stage for the first time since the 2014 edition especially when as many as eight third best placed teams also get to qualify too. However, the most innocuous factor-yellow cards-could prove to be the biggest hurdle for Ghana.
