Norwich City defender Jose Cordoba started for Panama as they suffered a painful late 1-0 defeat to Ghana in their World Cup Group L opener in Toronto.
The Canaries centre-back lined up in Thomas Christiansen’s back line at BMO Field, giving Norwich supporters a direct World Cup interest from kick-off.
Panama looked set to take a point from a tight opener, but Ghana struck deep into stoppage time.
Ahram Online listed Cordoba in the Panama starting XI, while Reuters confirmed Caleb Yirenkyi scored Ghana’s winner in the fifth minute of added time.
ReadNorwich has already tracked the full Norwich City World Cup schedule for every Canary involved, and Cordoba’s opener now gives that guide its first major defensive storyline.
Cordoba Now Faces A Sharp Panama Reset
For Norwich, the result brings a mixed feeling.
Cordoba earned valuable World Cup minutes, which matters after a strong domestic season under Philippe Clement.
But Panama came close to a result that would have changed the shape of the group immediately.
Now the reset has to come quickly. Panama face Croatia on June 23 before meeting England four days later, so Cordoba has little time to dwell on the opener.
For Cordoba, though, the next job is simple.
Respond quickly, hold his place, and make the next Panama start count.
