Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz says his side’s dramatic 1-0 win over Panama showed exactly how difficult it is to win matches at the FIFA World Cup.
The Black Stars needed a 95th-minute winner from Caleb Yirenkyi to begin their 2026 World Cup campaign with victory in Toronto, but Queiroz insisted the foundations of the result were laid through discipline, resilience and patience.
Speaking after the match, the Portuguese coach described the contest as one of the toughest his side has faced.
“Well, I’m tired,” Queiroz admitted.
“It was so tough and so intense that even me and myself are tired. This tells us everything about the game.
“The wins in this World Cup are very expensive. Today our players showed that they are ready to pay a high price for wins.”
Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz says World Cup victories are “very expensive” after the Black Stars’ dramatic 1-0 win over Panama, insisting suffering and patience were key to securing all three points.
Queiroz revealed that Ghana expected Panama to start strongly and prepared for a difficult opening period against a side he described as well organized and dangerous in transition.
“We knew that Panama is a wonderful team, very well organized,” he said.
“They play very smart, very fast, especially when they start the games. We knew that it was our time to suffer, to play with a lot of concentration.”
Rather than forcing the issue early, Ghana focused on staying compact, limiting Panama’s attacking options and waiting for opportunities to turn the momentum in their favor.
“Step by step, with the adjustments that we did during the game, I think we started to control the game,” Queiroz said.
“We started to put more pressure on them, force them to make mistakes and keep going.
“That’s the way you win. Find the right way to win.”
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The veteran coach was particularly pleased with his players’ response after losing several physical battles in the opening stages.
According to Queiroz, Panama’s experience initially unsettled his young squad, forcing them to raise their level after the break.
“Our players are young players, naive players,” he said.
“The players from Panama are more experienced. “We lost a lot of duels because we play with heart and we are not aggressive.
“But in the second half, I pushed the ears of my players. We had to go and fight and answer on the same level.”
That response transformed Ghana’s performance as they gradually gained control before Yirenkyi struck deep into stoppage time to secure all three points.
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According to Queiroz, the late winner was simply the reward for a team willing to endure difficult moments and keep believing.
“We survived,” he said.
“After that we had the game under control. We scored because we were the better team on the pitch.”
For Ghana, it was not a perfect performance, but it was exactly the type of hard-earned victory their coach believes is required to succeed on football’s biggest stage.
