The Panama team began their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 defeat against Ghanain a match corresponding to Group L, played at the Toronto stadium, Canada.
After the meeting, technical director Thomas Christiansen He expressed, in a press conference, his disappointment with the result, although he highlighted the performance of his players and assured that the team will maintain its playing identity in the next matches.
Christiansen described the way the defeat occurred as “cruel” and recalled that in a tournament of this magnitude, mistakes usually have immediate consequences.
“It’s cruel to lose the game like we lost it. Mistakes are costly in this tournament. It’s a mistake that hurts much more because to get into a World Cup you have to wait four years for the next one,” Christiansen said at a press conference.
The coach pointed out that, unlike other tournaments or qualifiers, in a World Cup the opportunities to correct are limited, so the impact of a mistake is greater.
Despite the setback, Christiansen highlighted Panama’s performance and considered that the team was close to achieving a historic result in its World Cup debut.
“You have to lift the player’s spirits. They made many Panamanians very happy and we were so close to achieving a historic result for Panama. It could be one of Panama’s best games in a World Cup and that is to be valued,” he commented.
With his sights set on the upcoming matches against Croatia and England, the coach acknowledged the difficulty of facing two high-level teams, but affirmed that the team will face both matches with confidence.
“Here we have two more games against very strong rivals. We know the difficulty, but we are going to go with everything. We have to show that confidence on the field of play that we have shown in today’s game,” he indicated.
Regarding the approach to face Croatia, Christiansen made it clear that Panama will not give up the style that has characterized the team during his management.
“That is our identity. What has made us strong has been playing this way. We are not going to give up on it. Yes, we are going to adapt to what Croatia or England offer us, but being faithful to how we have played for so many years and that has given us good results,” he stated.
