Panama’s 1-0 defeat against Ghana in his debut in the FIFA World Cup 2026 He left an atmosphere of frustration in the canal locker room.
One of the players who showed his face after the match was the midfielder José Luis Rodríguezwho regretted the result and apologized to the Panamanian fans for not having been able to carry out a performance that, in his opinion, deserved a different outcome.
The match, played at the Toronto stadium and corresponding to Group L, was decided in the extra minutes after regulation time, when Ghana took advantage of an opportunity to take the three points.
Rodríguez acknowledged that the team was hit by the way the defeat occurred.
“Honestly, with the game we were playing we cannot leave the defensive zone so neglected. There were already two minutes left before the game ended and the truth is it’s a little sad”, he noted.
The player considered that Panama was superior during much of the match, although he admitted that the rival managed to balance the actions in the second half.
“They have good players, they also play soccer. Obviously they were going to come out to counter us. It’s true that they took the ball away from us a little bit, but I still feel like we were better than them. In the end it is forcefulness and they arrived and marked us”, he expressed.
Despite the adverse result, Rodríguez highlighted the collective performance of the team and stated that the team showed a competitive level that should serve as a basis for the next matches.
“I think we should all know that we have improved a lot. The game we played was a brutal game. Line by line I feel like the team was competing and scoring. But in the end it’s a result and there’s no point in playing a great game if you end up losing it this way.”, he commented.
The footballer also admitted that the defeat generated feelings of sadness, pain and anger among the members of the team.
“You know that you were superior to your rival and you lost the game like that, in a play with one minute left to finish. I think we are all the same as the fans: sad, in pain and with anger. Now it’s time to continue,” he said.
With his sights set on the next match against Croatia, Rodríguez assured that Panama maintains its aspirations to advance to the next round of the tournament intact.
