Caleb Yirenkyi was still shy of his 21st birthday when he stood in the middle of a rain-soaked Toronto Stadium pitch on Wednesday night, surrounded by team-mates at the BMO Field.
The 20-year-old midfielder had just slid the ball into an empty Panama net in the 95th minute to give Ghana a 1-0 win in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener and, in the process, written his name into the Black Stars’ history books.
Speaking after the game, the FC Nordsjelland man tried his best to keep the praise at arm’s length.
“I feel quite good. I’ll give the credit to the team. I’m quite happy.”
According to Opta, Yirenkyi’s strike at 94 minutes and four seconds is now the latest goal Ghana have ever scored in a World Cup match (excluding extra time), eclipsing Asamoah Gyan’s famous 92:38 effort against the United States at South Africa 2010.
At 20 years and 153 days old, he also became the second-youngest player to score for Ghana at the tournament, behind only Draman Haminu, who netted at 20 years and 82 days. And it was, remarkably, only his second international goal, just over two weeks after his first.
The crowning moment
The move started, fittingly, with the scorer himself. Left-back Gideon Mensah chased a wayward Panama cross and slipped the ball to Yirenkyi in the middle of the pitch.
He fed Antoine Semenyo, who in turn released substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante down the left. Thomas-Asante burst into the box and squared low for Yirenkyi, who had run the length of the field to arrive on the six-yard line and tap home. He could remember every step of the run.
“I just kept running and I got a nice ball from Brandon. If you see the ball is ahead of you, you just want to keep running and catch up to the ball.”
“I try just to play forward and then run forward to see what comes. And, yeah, I got the ball in the box. I think that's what we have been practising all since we started our preparation. And then today we had the opportunity to finish,” he added.
The 16th-minute yellow
The maturity in that moment was striking precisely because the night could very easily have gone the other way. In just the 16th minute, with Ghana yet to register so much as a shot, Yirenkyi was the first player in the book.
He was cautioned by Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg for tugging back Yoel Bárcenas as the Panama forward looked to break clear in midfield.
With more than 70 minutes still to play and Panama growing into the game, a second yellow at any point would have ended his night and likely Ghana’s chances of winning. He credited the bench and the dressing room for steadying him.
“I got a lot of support from the staff and my teammates who encouraged me to just calm down and stay in the game.”
From Cardiff to Toronto
The Panama goal was not a complete bolt from the blue. Two weeks earlier, in Carlos Queiroz’s very first match in charge of the Black Stars, Yirenkyi had marked his senior debut goal in Ghana’s only pre-tournament friendly against Wales which ended 1-1.
Introduced from the bench in the second half, he reacted quickest to a parried Ernest Nuamah shot to find the net, only for Lewis Koumas to deny Ghana victory deep into stoppage time. Queiroz, then watching his new players for the first time, was effusive afterwards.
“He is a great player with a great future. He is still young with a lot of things to learn. With more experience, he can become one of the best players in the national team.”
The road to Cardiff and Toronto runs through Bechem, in Ghana’s Ahafo Region, where Yirenkyi was born in January 2006, and through the Right to Dream Academy, before a move to FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga, where he was named the club’s Player of the Season this past campaign.
Versatility under two coaches
What is striking about Yirenkyi’s short Black Stars career is how much has been asked of him already. Under Otto Addo, he made his senior bow at right-back during the Unity Cup against Nigeria.
Under Queiroz, he has been redeployed in a deeper midfield role and started Wednesday’s game as one of two No. 6s in front of the back four. Asked about the switch, he shrugged.
“I am quite happy to serve my nation anywhere on the field. I don’t really mind, I just do my job.”
He was warmer when asked about the Portuguese coach’s methods, which have leaned heavily on structure, intensity and repetition in the team’s pre-tournament camp.
“He gives us great lessons. We do a lot of training with a lot of intensity. I think it's not just me, it's everyone helping each other out. We all hope for the best, not just on myself but for everyone.”
Three points, and a marker
Ghana’s win is more than three points. It is the country’s sixth-ever senior World Cup victory, equalling Nigeria's record of the most wins by an African country.
Coupled with England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas earlier in the day, it leaves the Black Stars second in Group L heading into next Tuesday’s clash with the Three Lions in Foxboro. Yirenkyi, for his part, sees the bigger picture.
“I'm very positive. Not just me, my teammates also. We have one goal to do our best in this tournament, and I think that's what we've shown today.”
Yirenkyi and the Black Stars contingent returned to their base camp in Rhode Island after the opening game in Toronto against Panama.