Ghana suffered their first defeat of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday in Philadelphia, as Nikola Vlašić's late header handed the Europeans all three points and second place in Group L.
An insipid Ghana looked turgid and unambitious for large swathes of the first half, seeming to run themselves aground whenever they ventured into the mid to final third, and surrendering possession in elementary fashion. It was no surprise then that Petar Sučić gave Croatia a deserved first-half lead.
The goal shocked their system, and Ghana seemed to remember they were at the Philadelphia Stadium to play ball. Still, it took until the second half for Derrick Luckassen to draw them level.
After that, though, they went back into their sleepwalking pattern, and just 10 minutes later, Luka Modrić's corner found Vlašić, whose header settled the contest.
For Ghana, the defeat doesn't matter in the larger context -- their progress to the round of 32 as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams had been confirmed long back. But the problem was that this was a performance that lacked ambition.
Here is what stood out from a result that closed the group phase for both sides.
Ghana's caution crossed the line into passivity
There is a fine line between disciplined, conservative football and simply sitting back, inviting pressure, and waiting for trouble to arrive. Ghana crossed from the former to the latter and looked rudderless while doing so.
For much of the opening half, Ghana lacked drive. Just like he had done in previous games, Carlos Queiroz set his side up to be compact, and they offered little invention on the ball. They spent long stretches pinned inside their own half, struggled to string passes together and repeatedly handed possession back to Croatia. Every attempted attack seemed to end before it had begun.
The second half response was far more aggressive and eventually brought Luckassen's equalizer. By then, however, Ghana had spent too much of the evening reacting instead of dictating. And they promptly gave up another goal, which eventually proved to be the winner.
Here's the thing Carlos, if the plan was to start slow, frustrate the Croatians, then hit them with the breakaway threat, it failed. One of three is not a pass mark.
When a loss is a good thing
For Ghana, the silver lining in all this is that Thomas Partey will be available in the next round. The midfielder is unable to enter Canada because of a pending criminal case in England, and a win or draw against Croatia would have meant Ghana had to travel to Toronto to take on Portugal, a game they would have had to play without their leader and most experienced, influential midfielder.
With England taking on Panama and almost certain to top the group (which they did), losing and finishing third -- especially knowing their qualification was already secured -- was the only way Ghana could stay in the USA and ensure they had one of their best players available. Daresay, there was method to the madness after all...
Brothers make World Cup history, Asare falls just short
Football rarely writes family stories quite like this. Half-brothers Brian Brobbey and Derrick Luckassen are one of eight sets of brothers to feature at this World Cup, for different countries, the highest count ever.
Brobbey had already scored thrice for the Netherlands when Luckassen - a late addition to Ghana's squad after an injury to Alexander Djiku -- made his competitive international debut against Croatia. And he answered his brother's challenge immediately
The strike not only hauled Ghana back into the game but also completed a remarkable World Cup milestone, with the brothers representing different nations and both getting on the scoresheet during the same tournament.
On the other hand, Benjamin Asare fell just short of making history.
The Hearts of Oak goalkeeper had already made history ahead of the game, becoming the first domestic league goalkeeper to start a game for Ghana at the World Cup, and the first Ghana goalkeeper to keep two clean sheets. But Asare came into the match chasing not only a third World Cup clean sheet (which only Morocco's Bonou had as an African keeper), but also a historic third consecutive shutout.
Croatia ended that pursuit, but even so Asare produced another assured performance and could do little about either goal. With these impressive performances, though, there's little doubt he is now Ghana's #1.
Caleb Yirenkyi was missed
With youngster Caleb Yirenkyi sitting on a yellow card, and Ghana already qualified for the knockouts, Queiroz made the decision to sit the midfielder out rather than risk him getting another yellow that would rule him out of the round of 32 fixture.
It may yet work in the long-term, but in the match, Yirkenyi was sorely missed from the start. The young midfielder had already shown in Ghana's opening two matches that he can change games with his energy, composure and willingness to drive the team forward. Ghana missed every single one of those attributes. Faced with a team that ceded possession, they looked lost, with Thomas Partey largely occupied with close protection work for his fledgling back four, and the experienced Jordan Ayew too high up to dictate play.
Elisha Owusu acquitted himself well, but he is just not at the level of Yirenkyi, at least not at this time, as he lacked the progressive passing and dynamism Yirenkyi has consistently provided.
When the youngster was eventually thrown in, there was a clear shift, and it was clear to see what Ghana had been missing for the majority of the game.
Ghana supporters are the real MVPs
If there was one contest Ghana unquestionably matched (or even beat) Croatia in, it was in the stands.
Tens of thousands of Black Stars supporters transformed sections of Lincoln Financial Field into a sea of yellow and white, answering the Croatian traveling support throughout the afternoon.
They got behind their team from start to finish and made themselves seen, heard and felt. Their rendition of national anthem at the start was full-throated and passionate. Every Asare save drew thunderous roars. Luckassen's equalizer lifted the roof off the stadium, so to say. Even after Vlašić's winner, the supporters continued to cheer the team with gusto until the final whistle.
When the final whistle went, they stayed behind to applaud the players, shared photographs with Croatian fans, singing along to Croatian music with words whose meaning they had no clue about. These fans reminded everyone that the World Cup is as much about shared experiences as it is about results.
Ghana now move on to the knockout stage carrying the backing of these supporters who never stopped believing, even on a day when the football did not deliver the result they wanted. The Ghana fans were the real MVPs in Philadelphia.