Antoine Semenyo shimmers as Ghana gets liftoff

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In a World Cup week that’s seen Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Braut Haaland all step to the fore for their teams, the onus seemed to be on Antoine Semenyo to do the same on Wednesday.

As a player who was plying his trade for Bristol City in the English Championship just three seasons ago, the 26-year-old Semenyo might not have the same name cachet as that group of global superstars, who combined to score nine goals over the past two days.

But in a Ghana squad that draws players from the Cypriot league as well as the League of Ireland, the presence of a player who scored the winning goal for Manchester City in last month’s F.A. Cup final is crucial.

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Playing in his second World Cup, Semenyo likely didn’t need to be reminded that he was no longer safely ensconced in a Pep Guardiola-managed team, where he is surrounded by soccer icons like Haaland, Rodri and Rayan Cherki.

Instead, he was marooned on the left wing for much of Wednesday’s first half against Panama, with his bright pink boots the only eye-catching thing about one of the biggest stars in the Premier League. An increasingly frustrated figure, at one point he went more than 20 minutes without touching the ball as his teammates struggled to impose themselves on their World Cup opener.

Sensing the problem – as did many in 42,942-strong crowd - Ghana manager Carlos Quieroz shuffled his deck, bringing Semenyo into a more central position in a switch with winger Ernest Nuamah. In some ways it is a similar problem to that facing Canada when Alphonso Davies is healthy – how best to showcase and maximize the talents of a player who is that much more talented than the rest of this teammates.

The move had an almost immediate effect on Wednesday though, with Semenyo surging up the middle in first-half stoppage time, serving as a tantalizing reminder of what Ghana’s best player offers in full flow.

Guardiola and City certainly thought so last season, paying Bournemouth a reported 64-million pounds in January to bring a player who had scored 10 goals in 20 EPL games to that point to the Etihad Stadium. He responded by leading City to a pair of trophies in Guardiola’s last season in Manchester – the team also claimed the Carabao Cup – with Semenyo claiming Premier League player of the month in February.

Twenty minutes into the second half at Toronto Stadium, Semenyo had his first shot, a left-footed effort from the edge of the area that was blocked. The much-maligned ‘hydration break’ – which was booed both times by the crowd – gave Ghana a further chance to reset, and Semenyo and Abdul Fatawu were seen in heated discussion alongside Queiroz.

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Whatever was said almost worked immediately, with Semenyo working a give-and-go with Fatawu that resulted in him getting an opportunity from the edge of the area, but his tame effort was right at the Panama goalkeeper.

The match seemed destined for a draw though, and the Ghana playmaker did his part to keep Panama off the scoresheet, hustling back and playing the body in the 89^th minute to separate a Panamanian attacker from the ball.

But deep into added time, Ghana had one more attack. Semenyo picked up the ball on the halfway line, feeding Brandon Thomas-Asante down the left wing. After skipping past a defender, Thomas-Asante looked up to see Semenyo making a beeline for the near post, drawing both defender and goalkeeper towards him and opening up a channel to thread the ball to Caleb Yirenkyi for a simple tap-in for three points.

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The goal seemed almost cathartic for a player who was born in England to Ghanian parents, and watched heartbroken as the Black Stars were knocked out of the 2010 World Cup by Uruguay following Luis Suarez’s infamous handball on the line. He screamed with joy, before sliding headfirst into a pile of Ghanaian players on top of the goalscorer.

The final whistle brought more reflection, as he walked calmly past groups of celebrating teammates to pick up the match ball and boot it powerfully into the stands before joining in the party atmosphere.

Bigger tests like in wait for man-of-the-match Semenyo and the Black Stars, ranked 73^rd in the FIFA rankings, starting with next Tuesday’s matchup against England and City teammates Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and John Stones. But Wednesday’s win, just the country’s sixth at the World Cup, gets this tournament off to the very best of starts.