One of the biggest concerns Ghanaian fans had when Carlos Queiroz was appointed Black Stars coach to replace Otto Addo, was what they believed to be his conservative, almost defensive approach to the game.
Such was the concern that in his opening press conference, that was one of the questions asked of him. Queiroz dismissed the concerns, without actually addressing them, saying "You have to sacrifice; you have to sweat on the pitch to recover the ball as fast as possible in order to have more chances to build up opportunities and so on. After 43 years in the game, if you ask me things about how to win a game, I can probably tell you a couple of things. If I'm defensive or attacking, I leave these things for you."
On Wednesday night in Toronto, both those things were true. Ghanaian fears came to life as they sweated through ninety minutes of disjointed football, misplaced passes and late challenges before eking out a win in stoppage time.
Despite the win, the question that lingers for Black Stars fans is whether this is the sort of football they should expect to be subjected to, especially with two trying games against Croatia and England on the horizon.
Against the group's supposedly weakest team, and in a game that the Black Stars were expected to make easy work of to secure their first three points of the campaign, Ghana looked more like the stuttering underdog than the favourites, looking bereft of confidence.
Almost everything that could have gone wrong, did.
For large swathes of the game, especially in the first half, the Black Stars looked like a collection of pub stars who had only just met on the morning of the game to play street football.
Captain Jordan Ayew, equalling his brother André's record of 120 caps for Ghana, appeared to have lost his ability to hold the ball up, while his lack of pace was brutally exploited by Panama's intense and high press.
Antoine Semenyo cut an isolated figure out wide, and in a reflection of just how abysmal the situation was, the Manchester City star did not get a touch on the ball even once for a full 22 minutes of the first half, until he made a vertical pass with a minute till half time.
As if that was not bad enough goalscorer Caleb Yirenkyi picked up a yellow card after just 16 minutes and was left walking a tightrope for the rest of the game.
Wide players Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ernest Nuamah laboured to keep possession and were easily shrugged off the ball way too many times. It was no surprise when the duo were hauled off early in the second half.
In what was uncharacteristic for the Black Stars, the team went the entire first half without a single shot on goal! Ayew acknowledged their bad start: "They started the game very well and put pressure on us," he said after the game. "We didn't start the game very well. The most important thing is that we didn't concede. We stayed patient and when our chances came, we took them."
If there is some solace to be taken, it is that those chances were the result of Queiroz accepting that his starting team and tactics were not cutting it, and made changes. Queiroz took advantage of the first half hydration break to tweak his formation, switching to a 4-4-2 to send support to the wide areas where Panama's Michael Murillo was roaming free, and adding more bodies to midfield to keep track of Cristian Martínez.
In the second half, he threw on Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Brandon Thomas-Asante. That proved a turning point for Ghana, as their presence revitalized the team with an injection of pace and urgency.
The switch also meant that Ghana's attacking plays were now funneled through Semenyo, and the impact was almost instant.
From zero shots in the first forty-five minutes, Ghana piled on four in under ten minutes of the second half and came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock when defender Jerome Opoku Adjetey rose highest from a corner kick, only to flash his header narrowly wide of the post.
It was also another substitute who set up the goal. Thomas-Asante had already come close to breaking the deadlock himself but was denied. Moments later, he was at the forefront of a lightening quick counter-attack, breaking free down the left channel, skipping over a challenge before picking his head up and delivering the match-winning ball into the box for Yirenkyi to finish.
"Obviously, we needed to be patient," Ayew said. "Football is like that. Sometimes, you have a difficult experience, but you just need to stay in the game, and that's what we did, and at the end of the day, we won the game, so that's the most important thing."
The stark contrast between the first and second halves will make for much rumination by Queiroz over the coming days, both in terms of personnel and tactics.
It may be somewhat early, but safe to say that Jordan Ayew's starting spot now stands on sinking ground and he will need to show significant improvement against Croatia, to keep his place going forward.
Thomas Partey may no longer be at the peak of his powers, but on the evidence of Ghana's midfield display, he will be needed back against Croatia. Youngster Yirenkyi more than held his own despite his relative inexperience, but his partner Elisha Owusu not so much.
Yirenkyi is one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, and his display on Wednesday was evidence of why so many top European clubs are keeping tabs on him.
Tactically, Quieroz will have to figure out how to get Semenyo more involved in the play as a conduit for their attacking advancements.
This was an important win for the Black Stars. A draw would not only have left them demoralized and their confidence shot, but put them in the dire position of needing to win at least one of their next two games against Croatia and England.
Instead, they return to Rhode Island with the kind of win that breeds confidence, like a shot of adrenaline in the arm, and gives a team wings. There will be more confidence against Croatia, Partey should bring experience and stability in midfield, and if the Black Stars can hold it together for at least a draw, the round of 32 beckons.