When the Whistle Blew, God Answered

Last night, Ghana edged Panama 1-0 in extra time in their opening match of the World Cup, in a tense encounter that tested the nerves of every supporter watching. Caleb Yirenkyi scored the winning goal from a cross delivered by Brandon Thomas-Asante.

From the first whistle, Panama came with serious aggression. They gave us no room to breathe. The first shot at our post nearly broke our hearts, but goalkeeper Ati Zigi pulled off a clever save. That was just the warning. Ghana kept losing the one-on-one balls, and Panama sensed weakness and intensified the attack. Another threatening strike came in the 37th minute, then another dangerous one in the 39th.

I think Panama's strategy was to mount pressure to score the first goal and defend afterward.

It was a daunting time to be watching. Zigi made powerful saves, but he looked injured. You could see Benjamin Asare warming up, waiting for his chance. That chance came in the second half. When he stepped in, he performed incredibly well — calm, commanding, exactly what we needed.

Despite the pressure, Ghana defended well. That gave me hope going into the second half. I didn't know how the win would come, but I knew it would come. Panama dominated possession with 58% to Ghana's 32%. They pressed, they pushed, they suffocated.

Jonas Adjetey caused problems of his own, winning powerful headers throughout the match. His presence in the air gave Ghana a flicker of hope. Then Panama mounted pressure again in the opening minutes of the second half. At that point I was calling on the God of Ghana to intervene. What pressure! Panama struck again in the 59th minute.

I saw the goal coming when we won a corner in the 61st minute. A strike from our side hit the side net. "Walahi... Daben!" I started blowing in tongues right there. "Eii Jesus, do something for your people."

The 90 minutes ended scoreless, and the match went to extra time. That's when Yirenkyi struck — meeting Thomas-Asante's cross to send Ghana into raptures. God, we thank you. The prayers worked. The tongues worked. God did. The players kept fighting till the last minute.

Despite the win, the coach and technical team still have work to do with this team. But I loved the coach's final run onto the pitch. It wasn't just a celebration — it was motivation for the players and for every supporter watching. That energy matters.

My man of the match is Caleb Yirenkyi, with Jonas Adjetey a close second — though the official award went to Antoine Semenyo.

Kudos to Ghana. Kudos to the coach and the entire playing body. We suffered, we prayed, we believed — and we won.

Author: Felix Ekow Eshun
Founder, Lixfel
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