Panama will make their second appearance at the World Cup when they travel to North America, hoping to improve on their performance in 2018.
Los Canaleros finished bottom of Group G in their only previous appearance, losing all three games and conceding 11 goals.
Expectations aren’t that much higher this time around, with Panama drawn into Group L with England, Ghana and Croatia but Panama will be hoping to make an impact without much pressure on them.
Panama route to the World Cup
Panama qualified for the World Cup in great fashion, coming top of their qualifying group with three wins and three draws from six games. They scored nine goals in those six matches and conceded just four times.
They only managed draws against Suriname in their two meetings but two wins over El Salvador and a victory against Guatemala proved decisive, leaving Panama three points ahead of Suriname, who had to settle for a place in the inter-confederation playoffs.
Panama World Cup 2026 fixtures
Panama kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against Ghana, which probably represents their best chance of picking up points. They follow up that fixture with a game against Croatia, before ending their group stage campaign against England, one of their opponents in 2018 where the Three Lions ran out 6-1 winners.
READ MORE: Get the latest Panama World Cup 2026 outright odds here
Panama key players for World Cup 2026
Panama top World Cup Golden Boot contender: Jose Fajardo
- Key stat: Scored the goal that gave Panama a famous win over the United States at the 2024 Copa America.
One thing’s for sure at this World Cup – Panama will look to Jose Fajardo for goals. He has scored 17 times for his country, including three times in qualifying, and twice en route to the 2024 Copa America quarter-finals.
Panama creative outlet: Amir Murillo
- Key stat: The attacking defender was Panama’s top assist provider in qualifying.
Amir Murillo currently plays his trade in France with Marseille and has previously featured for Anderlecht and New York Red Bulls; bringing valuable experience at the top level. Murillo has impressive attacking returns for a full-back/wing-back, having scored nine goals and provided 12 assists in 90 international appearances for Panama, including three during the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Panama card magnet & top tackler: Anibal Godoy
- Key stat: Has accumulated a record 157 caps for Panama since making his debut in 2010.
Panama’s captain made his debut back in 2010 and has since gone on to win over 150 caps for his country. The defensive midfielder racked up nearly 100 yellow cards at club level and has 32 for his country, four of which came in qualifying.
STAND-OUT STAT: Panama conceded more goals than any other team in their only previous World Cup appearance at the 2018 tournament with 11, despite only playing three games.
Panama set-piece specialists
- Penalties: Ismael Diaz, Eric Davis
- Free kicks: Amir Murillo, Adalberto Carrasquilla
- Corners: Eric Davis, Adalberto Carrasquilla
Panama tactical analysis and formation
Team stats from qualifying:
- Defeats: 0 (W7 D3)
- Top scorers: Jose Fajardo & Jose Luis Rodriguez (3 goals)
- Most assists: Amir Murillo (3)
- Clean sheets: 6
- Matches over 2.25 goals: 4
- Average goals scored: 1.9
- Average goals conceded: 0.5
Christiansen has consistently favoured a fluid 3-4-3 / 4-5-1 system, one that offers Panama both structural security and attacking flexibility. Throughout qualification, the approach proved highly effective as Panama went unbeaten in 10 matches, during which they recorded six clean sheets and scored 19 goals.
Orlando Mosquera is expected to start in goal, protected by a back three that will almost definitely include Andres Andrade and Fidel Escobar. The system relies heavily on the wing-backs for width and ball progression, with Amir Murillo on the right and Eric Davis on the left. In central midfield, captain Aníbal Godoy and Adalberto Carrasquilla will be expected to partner up.
Further forward, Christiansen faces key selection decisions. The striker role could fall to either Jose Fajardo or Cecilio Waterman.
Get the latest Panama World Cup goals, assists, shots, passes and tackle stats here
Panama manager analysis
Panama have been under the watch of Thomas Christiansen since the summer of 2020. After digesting the initial disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Christiansen has gone on to make a significant impact in the dugout.
Under his guidance, Panama reached the final of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa America, contested the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League final, and secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup without suffering a single defeat.
Bolstered by these performances, the Dane will target a historic result in Panama’s opening World Cup fixture against Ghana as he looks to secure Panama’s first-ever point – or even points – on the global stage.
English audiences may recall Christiansen from his brief eight-month spell at Leeds United during the 2017–18 season, while his coaching resume also includes spells with Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium and Cypriot sides APOEL and AEK Larnaca.
As a player, Christiansen enjoyed a prolific career, notably scoring 28 goals in 60 appearances for Barcelona B, though he never broke into the first team. He went on to feature for clubs including Oviedo, Villarreal and Hannover 96, and finished as joint top scorer in the Bundesliga with VfL Bochum during the 2002–03 season.
| Coach | Team | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Christiansen | Panama | 85 | 41 | 20 | 24 | 48.2% |
Panama World Cup FAQs
Where did Panama finish at the last World Cup?
Panama didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Prior to that, they lost all three of their matches at the 2018 World Cup, where they suffered a group stage exit.
Who will be Panama captain at the World Cup?
Experienced defensive midfielder Anibal Godoy will captain Panama at the World Cup.
Who is Panama’s all-time top goalscorer at World Cups?
Panama have only scored two goals at the World Cup and one of them was an own-goal, meaning Felipe Baloy is their top scorer in the tournament after he netted their first-ever goal in the 6-1 defeat to England.
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