World Cup
2026-06-17 - Ghana vs Panama
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: World Cup Group L Match Day 1
Wednesday 17th June 2026 - Kick Off 7pm (EST)
British Time Midnight
Ghana
This is the fifth time in six World Cup Finals that Ghana have Qualified for the tournament, but there is a feeling that the team are not quite as experienced as they would have hoped. Losing Mohammed Kudus to injury is a big blow, while Ghana failed to even Qualify for the African Cup of Nations that was completed earlier in the year.
Finishing above Madagascar and Mali helped Ghana earn their place in North America this summer, but they have turned to the experience of Carlos Queiroz to guide them in this tournament. The new manager is in charge of his ninth different international team and Ghana will be hoping that Queiroz can find the right tactics to help them out of this section.
Ghana Qualified for the World Cup Finals last October, but lost 4 friendly games in a row before turning to Carlos Queiroz. He has since guided Ghana to a defeat against Mexico and a draw in Wales, although Ghana were leading into injury time in the latest of those matches.
Do You Know... Only the controversial actions of Luis Suarez prevented Ghana from becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup Semi Final back in 2010 and they have won a single World Cup match since then.
Thomas Partey has had his visa rejected to enter Canada and so will mist this fixture.
Predicted Line Up: Ati-Zigi, Seidu, Mensah, Opoku, Abdul Mumin, Sibo, Yirenkyi, Ayew, Fatawu, Semenyo and Williams (4-2-3-1)
Panama
With the top three teams from the Confederation hosting the 2026 World Cup Finals, the likes of Panama would have expected to make it through to the Group Stage of the tournament via the weakened Qualifiers. After missing out in 2022, Panama are back on the world stage, and there has been definite improvement in the squad since last competing at this level eight years ago.
They were unbeaten in Qualifying and finished above Suriname in the final Group to earn a spot in the Finals, while Panama finished Runners Up in the 2023 Gold Cup and Quarter Finalists most recently. Being familiar with the conditions should aid Panama as well, although getting out of the Group Stage will take a couple of big results.
Panama have tried to step up the level of competition in friendly settings and they have won 2 of the last 7 in that environment against South Africa and Dominican Republic. Draws with South Africa, Bolivia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and losses to Brazil and Mexico suggests there is a limit to what can be achieved in the World Cup Finals.
Do You Know... Panama will still be looking for a first point at a World Cup Finals when they play in this tournament.
Predicted Line Up: Mosquera, Escobar, Cordoba, Andrade, Carrasquilla, Godoy, Murillo, Davis, Diaz, Barcenas and Fajardo (3-4-3)
Head to Head
This is the first competitive fixture between the nations.
Prediction
The expectation is that England and Croatia will fill the top two places in the Group Stage, but some of the third place finishers will earn a spot in the Last 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
That has to be the ambition for Ghana and Panama and this opening fixture between the nations is hugely important.
Three points and a better than minus two goal difference is the equation that has been set out before the tournament has begun for those best third place teams.
With that in mind, both Panama and Ghana have to see this as a 'must win' situation and it should play out in that manner in Toronto.
Carlos Queiroz is the new manager in charge of Ghana, but he has stronger quality players within the squad, notably Antoine Semenyo after a big season in the English Premier League.
Consistency and a deep knowledge of what Thomas Christiansen is demanding should mean Panama are competitive as each squad player knows what is expected from him. That can help, but Panama have not really played too many high quality opponents in recent years and Ghana may deserve a narrow edge.
Panama have familiarity with the conditions and that makes them dangerous, but Ghana's midfield and strikers should give them the edge and they can pick up the three points to give themselves a real boost in the bid to return to the Knock Out Rounds for the first time since 2010 when reaching the Quarter Final.
The Pick :
Ghana 2-1 Panama
