“Not by Might, But by the Lord” –Hon Ntim Fordjour Says Black Stars’ Win Shows Unity Beats Politics, Hails Caleb Yirenkyi’s Goal

Assin South MP Rev. John Ntim Fordjour says Ghana’s 1-0 victory over Panama at the 2026 World Cup proves that national unity, not politics, delivers results, and praised 19-year-old Caleb Yirenkyi for scoring the decisive goal.

Contributing to parliamentary statements on the Black Stars, Hon. Ntim Fordjour said the win in Toronto was proof that “if a nation unites behind a team and a purpose and puts political colours behind, we would definitely achieve our goal.”

He stated that, yesterday was a clear demonstration that not by might, not by power, and not he that wills it or he that runs it, but the Lord that showed mercy.

He said the match kept the nation in suspense until the final whistle. “For anyone that had doubts in the inspiration of the team from the beginning until the last minutes… you would not be able to predict right.”

*Breakdown of Winning Goal*

Hon. Ntim Fordjour gave a detailed account of the goal that sent Ghana “into a state of ecstasy.”

“Getting to the nineteenth minute when a new wave of inspiration was sparked, the young man Caleb Yirenkyi started an onslaught, initiated the attack and then passed it on to Antoine Semenyo. Antoine Semenyo brilliantly passed it to Thomas Asante. Then the whole country started rising hope had been restored,” he recounted.

“Then just when, brilliantly, Thomas Asante passed it on to the young man Caleb who initiated the attack and finished it completely, brilliantly, all of us were thrown into a state of ecstasy. Midnight and the whole country was vibrating with joy.”

The MP stressed the importance of the result in Group L, which includes England and Croatia. “The victory we won yesterday was our clear chance of qualifying for the next round. If we had lost that game, our dreams would have ended.”

He contrasted Ghana’s win with other results: “A team like Russia… are struggling even to earn a point, they lost four goals to two. We have the African champions, with the greatest of respect to Senegal, but they failed to secure even a point. But Ghana has made Africa proud. Black Stars have made Ghanaians proud.”

Hon. Ntim Fordjour said the victory sparked patriotism across the country and diaspora. “All across the country and even in the diaspora, Ghanaians across the world were crowded and were flaunting the brown colours of our country. A lot of people you see in the streets, in their cars, various walks of life — all were clad in the national team’s jersey, including this House.”

“That goes to show the new spirit, the spirit of patriotism that has been awakened by football. Football unites all of us. Football has a unique power of bringing the country together, bringing us, uniting us and letting us forget our differences.”

*“Tone Down Political Differences”*

He urged that the unity seen during the match should continue beyond the World Cup. “This must remind us that in much the same way, if we would tone down on the political differences that continually destroy this country, but unite the political class all the way to the grassroots… we will be able to go somewhere very far.”

He cited his own experience in his constituency: “Last night when I joined the youth and the community at Ankwaso… about twenty communities joined, we forgot who was NPP or NDC, that did not matter to us. We forgot who was Muslim or Christian, that did not matter to us. All of us were united and fixated and focused on victory for Ghana. That spirit should not end when the World Cup season ends.”

*From Robotics Winner to World Cup Scorer*

Hon. Ntim Fordjour also revealed Caleb Yirenkyi’s background in STEM. “I want to commend Caleb Yirenkyi. Just in 2019, just in 2019, a few years ago, he was a proud winner of the Ministry of Education’s Robotics Competition.”

“We have a strong policy on STEM, on robotics, which prepared some of these stars who at a time were very young but now are rising as global giants.”