Monday 05 / May / 2025
PANAMA coach Hernan Dario Gomez believes his side have qualified for their first World Cup earlier than they should have done and is limiting his ambitions to putting on a dignified display.
Unlike in most Latin American countries, football does not have a strong tradition in Panama and it lagged behind boxing, baseball and basketball in popularity until a few years ago.
Panama did not even enter the World Cup until the qualifiers for the 1978 tournament but that has changed and in the last decade they have become a force in the CONCACAF region.
Since 2005, they have twice reached the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the semifinals on another two occasions, including a stormy defeat to Mexico in 2015.
Even so, Gomez said recently that he had not expected his team to qualify for a World Cup so early and admitted that Panama were the team that “the other 31 countries wanted to get in the draw”.
“It’s a young football country and we qualified before our time,” he said. “Panama doesn’t have a (Lionel) Messi, we don’t have a Neymar, we don’t have a Cristiano Ronaldo.”
But, with the United States in disarray and a favourable combination of results elsewhere, Panama finished third in the final stage of the CONCACAF qualifiers, despite winning only three out of 10 games and scoring a modest nine goals.
A 2-1 win over Costa Rica in their final game - helped by an equaliser where the ball clearly did not cross the line - meant they finished above Honduras on goal difference and one point ahead of the U.S. who lost 2-1 to Trinidad & Tobago.
Suddenly, they were at the World Cup but are now wondering whether they have bitten off more than they can chew.
Panama, who will face Belgium, England and Tunisia in Group G, are certainly not short on experience and six members of the squad which took part in the March tour to Europe have more than 100 caps.
If anything, they are somewhat long in the tooth with a surprising number of key players, such as goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, defenders Felipe Baloy and Roman Torres, midfielders Gabriel Gomez and Alberto Quintero and forwards Blas Perez and Luis Tejada all into their 30s.
A lack of practice against teams from outside the CONCACAF region is another concern and a 6-0 friendly thumping in Switzerland - in which Gomez said his team were “stripped naked” - has left the coach with a certain amount of trepidation.
“We have made a dream come true by reaching the World Cup but we still have to do well when we get there,” he said.
“It’s a big task and we have to work out to put on a dignified display which the Panamanians can enjoy.”
Factbox
FIFA Ranking: 55
Previous tournaments
Panama will be making their debut at the World Cup finals. They first entered the World Cup qualifiers for the 1978 tournament in Argentina.
Coach: Hernan Dario Gomez
The 62-year-old has qualified Panama for their first World Cup, repeating a feat he achieved with Ecuador in 2002. He will be coaching at his third finals having also led his native Colombia in 1998. Gomez had a second stint with Colombia in 2011 but resigned after only four months following an incident in which he hit a woman in a bar. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Gomez was also assistant to Francisco Maturana when Colombia played at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and has also coached Guatemala.
Key players
Gabriel Gomez: Defensive midfielder who has won more than 140 caps since his debut in 2004. He has played in four World Cup qualifying competitions and seven CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments. The 33-year-old’s club career has taken him to Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States, Portugal and Cyprus and his current side, Colombia’s Atletico Bucaramanga, is the 18th of his remarkable career.
Roman Torres: The dreadlocked defender is the linchpin of the defence and became Panama’s unlikely hero when he scored the last minute goal that took them to the World Cup finals at the expense of the United States and Honduras. The 32-year-old, who was sidelined for most of the 2016 season with a cruciate ligament injury, has won more than 100 caps. He spent most of his club career in Colombia before joining Seattle Sounders in 2015.
Alberto Quintero: In a side based on tactical organisation, hard work and defensive solidity, the 28-year-old Quintero, usually to be found on the right of the midfield, is the main creative influence. He is already approaching his 100th cap but, despite his international experience, his club career has been a mixed bag which has taken him to Major League Soccer but also the Mexican second division. He currently plays for Universitario in Peru.
Form guide
Panama have struggled in friendlies since qualifying for the World Cup, losing to Iran and Denmark by single goals, drawing with Wales and being thumped 6-0 by Switzerland. They did manage wins in low-key friendlies against Grenada and Trinidad. Panama reached the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup last year before losing 1-0 to Costa Rica. Their last 10 competitive internationals have produced four wins, three draws and three defeats.
How they qualified
Panama finished third out of six in the final stage of the CONCACAF qualifiers thanks to a controversial 2-1 win over Costa Rica in their last game. Defender Torres scored an 88th-minute winner. However, replays of Blas Perez’s equaliser early in the second half clearly showed that the ball did not cross the line. The win meant they finished ahead of Honduras on goal difference and leapfrogged the United States who, having beaten Panama 4-0 three days earlier, were eliminated after a 2-1 defeat in Trinidad.
Prospects
Drawn in Group G, Panama will be thrown in at the deep end by facing Belgium in their opening game. They then face England and finally Tunisia. Coach Hernan Dario Gomez admits that his team are rank outsiders and that he would be happy with a single victory. Should they pull off a sensation and qualify, then Gomez’s native Colombia would be among their potential opponents in the last 16.
