Ghana’s Group stage opponents at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Panama, wrapped up their home preparations with an entertaining 4-2 victory over the Dominican Republic on Tuesday night before departing for the United States.

The farewell match, played in front of a packed home crowd, gave Thomas Christiansen’s side a confidence boost ahead of their final pre-World Cup friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Panama opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes following a well-worked move involving Cesar Yanis, Jose Fajardo and Cristian Martinez.

After Fajardo’s initial effort was blocked, the ball fell kindly to Tomas Rodriguez, who calmly slotted home to put the hosts ahead.

The Central Americans doubled their advantage before halftime when Victor Griffith’s long-range strike took a significant deflection, leaving the Dominican goalkeeper with no chance.

Christiansen made several changes after the break, but Panama maintained their attacking threat.

Mariano Diaz pulled one back for the visitors shortly after the restart with a composed finish following a diagonal run into the penalty area.

Cecilio Waterman then capitalised on a defensive mix-up between the goalkeeper and a defender to score Panama’s third goal of the evening.

The Dominican Republic responded again with a goal from Erick Japa after a defensive lapse, but Panama had the final say as Kadir Barria capped an impressive performance by converting from close range following a pass from Erick Davis.

The victory extends Panama’s positive momentum as they continue preparations for the World Cup, where they will come up against Ghana.

The Black Stars will be closely monitoring the Panamanians, who have shown attacking quality and depth in recent outings.

Panama will now travel to the United States for a final tune-up match against Bosnia and Herzegovina before beginning their World Cup campaign

The Black Stars have officially arrived in the United States ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, receiving a rousing welcome from members of the Ghanaian community and traditional leaders in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on Thursday.

The team arrived with some contingent, consisting of 26 playing body and one extra standby goalkeeper making the squad 27, with some management committee members and The technical team lead by head coach Carlos Queiroz .

Several key members of the squad, including Thomas Partey, Iñaki Williams, Baba Rahman, Jordan Ayew, Ernest Nuamah, Antoine Semenyo, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Lawrence Ati-Zigi and Benjamin Asare, were greeted by enthusiastic supporters shortly after touching down.

The colourful event featured traditional drumming, dancing and cultural displays, as chiefs and elders from the Ghanaian community came together to welcome the team and offer their blessings ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The event highlighted the deep connection between the Black Stars and Ghanaians living abroad, many of whom are expected to travel across the United States to support the team during the competition.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz and his players will now continue their final preparations in the United States, where they are scheduled to face Jamaica in a friendly match before opening their World Cup campaign.

Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama, with hopes high that the Black Stars can make a deep run at the tournament and improve on their recent World Cup performances.

Ivory Coast made history on Thursday by becoming the fifth African nation to defeat France after securing a 2-1 victory in an international friendly at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.

The result served as a major confidence boost for the Elephants ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and added another memorable chapter to African football’s record against the 2018 World Champions.

France took the lead shortly before halftime through Manchester City midfielder Rayan Cherki, who put the hosts ahead in the 45th minute.

However, Ivory Coast responded strongly after the break. Gilles Doue equalised in the 53rd minute before Manchester United Amad Diallo completed the comeback with the winning goal in the 84th minute.

The Elephant put up an impressive performance from the and highlighted their readiness ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ivory Coast are now the fifth African country to record a victory over France at senior international level.

The historic list includes: Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Ivory Coast.

Tunisia remains the only Arab country to have beaten France.

France will now shift its attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they are set to face Senegal as their next opponent in Group I opener.

The French side have been drawn alongside Senegal, Norway and Iraq, setting up an intriguing clash against the African champions as they begin their quest for World Cup glory.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast will head into the tournament full of confidence after their historic victory, hoping to carry that momentum onto football’s biggest stage.

The Elephant remains undefeated in their campaign during the World Cup qualifiers, finishing the campaign with 26 points and 25 goals.