Ghana’s World Cup group opponents Panama is gearing up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a pair of high-profile international friendly matches against South Africa later this month.
These encounters serve as key preparatory exercises for the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The series kicks off on Friday, March 27, 2026, when Bafana Bafana host Panama at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, with kickoff scheduled for 19:00 local time. Just four days later, on Tuesday, March 31, the teams will meet again in the second leg at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, starting at 19:30.
Tickets for both fixtures are available through Ticketpro, priced from R80 for adults and R50 for children under 12, and the matches will be broadcast on SABC and SuperSport.
Organized as part of South Africa’s build-up under head coach Hugo Broos, these games provide valuable opposition from a fellow World Cup qualifier in the CONCACAF region, where Panama secured their spot by topping their group in the qualifiers. For Panama, facing a strong African side like South Africa offers a solid test of their readiness on the global stage.
At the upcoming World Cup, Panama has been drawn into Group L alongside England, Croatia, and Ghana. Their group stage campaign begins with a matchup against Ghana on June 17, 2026, at BMO Field in Toronto, promising an intriguing clash between the two nations from different confederations.
These friendlies against South Africa come at an ideal time for Panama to sharpen their tactics and form ahead of that challenging group opener and the rest of the tournament.