I think this is quite an even contest and could take a while to come to life, but it’s really important for both teams given that the other nations in this group are Croatia and England, who are both expected to finish in the top two.

Ghana’s recent form has been pretty poor, and their struggles actually go back to the start of the year when they failed to qualify for AFCON, which was a real shock. They have a chance of redemption here, but have failed to win any of their last seven matches, seeing 2+ goals in five of these games.

Panama have shown more resolve in their warm-up games for the World Cup, losing just one of their last five matches and seeing 2+ goals in all five of these games.

I think Panama can definitely get on the scoresheet, and possibly even nick a result, in this opening game.

The mood around Ghana is pretty sour; they’ve failed to win any of their last seven matches, also failing to keep a clean sheet in any of these games.

Panama have shown in their warm-up matches that they can carry a decent attacking threat. They scored twice against Brazil, put four past the Dominican Republic, and managed to break down a pretty stubborn Bosnia side in their final preparation game.

I can see this game getting very scrappy, particularly in the early knockings, which should lead to a few cards for both sides.

Panama are quite an aggressive side; they averaged 14.1 fouls per game during qualifying and also picked up 14 cards across their six games (2.33 per game).

As previously mentioned, this is pretty much a straight shootout for who will possibly progress as one of the best third-placed sides, so I expect quite a bit of tension and a few early cautions, which should make this leg a decent one to cheer on.

The central areas are likely to be quite congested here, which should force a lot of the play to the wings, which is ideal for corners.

This is quite a low line for corners; we’ve seen quite an increase in sides utilising set pieces and corners in particular as a route to goal over the opening few days of the World Cup, and I expect that to continue throughout the tournament. 

Panama’s games during qualifying saw an average of 9.70 corners per game. They saw 8+ corners in 90% of these matches, and we’re only looking for seven in this game for this leg of our Bet Builder.

Antoine Semenyo is the main star in this Ghana side, with Kudus missing the tournament due to injury.

He’s enjoyed a very strong season for Bournemouth and Manchester City in the Premier League and will be one of Ghana’s key attacking threats at the World Cup.

He’s very consistent when it comes to getting shots away, averaging 1.15 shots on target per 90 in the Premier League during the 25/26 campaign and 2.20 shots per 90 in Ghana’s qualifying campaign for AFCON, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

There’s also a decent chance that Semenyo leads the line for his nation here, giving him an even better chance of finding the target.