The Panama National Team continues to refine details at its base camp in New Tecumseth, Ontariofacing his long-awaited debut at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and he does so with an extra dose of confidence transmitted by one of his offensive references: Ismael Diaz.
A few days before the match against Ghana, scheduled for next June 17 at Toronto Stadiumthe Panamanian attacker assured that the group arrives convinced that it can compete on equal terms against any team in the tournament.
“We have shown that we can compete with any team“said Díaz during a media meeting held this Saturday at the national team camp.
This Saturday’s preparation day included a full agenda for those led by Thomas Christiansen.
The team began the day with a video analysis session at the concentration hotel, focused on tactical aspects and studying the rival. Subsequently, the players moved to the training field for a new soccer practice and ended the day with physical recovery work and cryotherapy in the gym.
The team thus maintains its work plan in Canadian territory with the aim of arriving in optimal conditions for the World Cup premiere.
For Díaz, this will be his second participation in a World Cup after having been part of the squad that played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The León de México forward highlighted the learning accumulated throughout his career and assured that he seeks to contribute both on and off the field of play.
“Throughout your career you learn many things, both positive and negative. Today I try to contribute what I can on and off the field. It’s also time to enjoy yourself because you don’t experience this every day,” he expressed.
The attacker recalled that in Russia 2018 he was only able to play one match before suffering an injury that left him out of the rest of the competition, so this World Cup represents a new opportunity to leave his mark with the national jersey.
Although the World Cup atmosphere generates expectations, Díaz made it clear that the team is focused exclusively on the first game of the tournament.
Panama is part of Group L and will have as its first rival a Ghana team that also aspires to advance to the next round.
The attacker highlighted that the group works with intensity and responsibility to start the contest with a positive result.
When asked what Panama needs to achieve a historic performance in the World Cup, Díaz did not hesitate to respond.
“We are very hungry. We are really not afraid of anyone and the team that comes to the front we want to compete with them. We are believing it and I am sure that we are going to do very good things in this World Cup.”, he noted.
