2026 World Cup: Black Stars must target a win against Panama in opener - Derek Boateng

Former Ghana midfielder Derek Boateng has stressed the importance of starting the Black Stars’ 2026 World Cup campaign on a strong note.

Ghana, making their fifth appearance at the global tournament, will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto. They will then face England on June 23 in Boston before concluding the group stage against Croatia on June 27 in Philadelphia.

In an interview with Sporty FM, Boateng described the group as challenging but emphasized the need to secure a win against Panama.

“I feel like that’s a tough group, we all know how England plays, some of our players play with them in England, we all know how they move and how they do things,” he told Sporty FM.

“We know their top players and who are going to start the game, and you see Croatia, who always do well in tournaments they qualify for, and people respect them a lot, and they have really good players who work hard."

Boateng highlighted Panama as a key focus for Ghana’s opener.

“Here comes Panama, who you don’t know anything about, and the Panama captain plays in our team [San Diego], and I watch him every day in training, and he is not a guy who runs a lot.

“But when the game starts, he has more brains than anybody on the field. The passes that he will pick on the field, he will destroy your defenders with one pass; he really thinks ahead of everyone.

“They are Blacks, and they didn’t just qualify by luck, they play well, they are really good, and we are playing against them in the first game, and I hear people saying that, as for Panama, we will score a lot."

He added that a victory in the first game would set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

“Everything starts from there. If we beat them, I feel like England and Croatia are not tough. England is not tough. England is afraid of us because we have quality players. Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, and Kamaldeen Sulemana played against them, so we have players who have matched them and know them.

“So I feel like the team that we have to look at the most is Panama because in every tournament, your first game is the most important one, it gives you a foundation for the rest of the games, and I feel like we have to concentrate on that game," he added.

Following early exits in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the Black Stars will be aiming to advance further in the expanded 2026 finals.