Don’t let the label of an “African powerhouse” fool you — with Panama getting 0.25 goals here, it’s a bargain either way. Let me break down the logic clearly. A lot of people think Ghana should beat Panama simply because they have a higher market value on paper and a squad full of players from the top five leagues. That’s only because they haven’t checked the latest news. This Ghana side is basically falling apart through the spine — midfield brain Thomas Partey is out due to visa issues, their most direct threat in attack, Mohammed Kudus, is injured, and both first-choice center-backs are also sidelined. In other words, the midfield is broken, the front line has lost its firepower, and the back line is being patched together. New coach Carlos Queiroz has only been in charge for two months and still hasn’t fully settled the tactical framework. They’ve gone seven games without a win, can’t score, can’t defend properly, and their form is poor to the core. The only thing that still looks decent is their pace out wide, and in terms of real strength, they are not much better than Panama at all. Now look at Panama. They have earned their place through real World Cup qualifying performances. Their back-five defensive structure has been refined over several years, they’re extremely disciplined, and they have real quality in transition and on set pieces. The squad is fully fit with no injury issues, and they’re especially good at grinding down weakened strong teams like this. They can approach the game with a low profile: a point would be a solid result, and stealing a win would be massive. With no pressure on them, they’re actually more likely to perform well. Given this setup, the line still giving Panama 0.25 is equivalent to a full win if the game ends level. Even if Ghana somehow scrapes a lucky one-goal victory, you only lose half. The margin for error is huge. Football is never 100% certain, of course, but this side of the handicap offers very strong value and is well worth serious consideration.