On entering Church Street Espresso cafe in downtown Toronto, Desmond Safo greeted the four Panama supporters sitting out on the terrace with a straightforward taunt.
"Ghana are going to win," he beamed cheekily as he went in to join his Ghana flag-draped mate Dennis Amoabeng.
Within a minute or two, the Ghana-supporting duo were back outside dynamically sharing hugs with their new best enemies and taking a few knocks about their own team.
Feeding off the brunchtime bonhomie, another cafe-goer insisted on snapping pictures of the smiling six who had gathered in the Canadian city for the World Cup Group L opener between Panama and Ghana.
"I've been watching football for years," said Safo who had taken time out from his studies in business administration to travel from his home in Montreal with Amoabeng for the tie.
"Normally I watch it on TV but I couldn't pass up a chance to come and see Ghana live at a World Cup. It was too good a chance to miss."
The 36-year-old, who was born in Kumasi in central Ghana, paid Can$ 400 for his ticket at the Toronto Stadium. There was no remorse.
"It's worth it," he said. "The game against Panama is a must win. It's non-negotiable.
"I've no expectations from the games against England and Croatia. We get what we get. "But against Panama we have to get the win."
Warning over high expectations
On the eve of the match, Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz warned against expecting an easy game against Panama.
"They are a well organised team," said Queiroz. "They are very experienced and they are competitive. We hold them in high regard and we respect them as we respect England and Croatia."
The 73-year-old took over in April following the dismissal of Otto Addo who had steered Ghana through the African qualifying campaign.
Queiroz was appointed less than a month after he failed to lead Oman to the World Cup.
"He is a very experienced coach," said Safo of Queiroz. "He has been to the tournament with a lot of teams. We have to trust him."
Ghana have not reached the knockout stages since the surge to the last eight at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Back then the competition was a 32-team affair with the top two from the eight groups of four producing the candidates for the knockout stages.
With the expansion in 2026 to 48 teams, a last 32 knockout round has been created for the top two from the 12 groups as well as the eight best third-placed teams.
"If we got to the quarter-finals," mused Safo, "I'd be happy with that."
