Teams
Panama only managed to qualify for their first ever World Cup eight years ago and after only narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Qatar tournament, they had few issues this time around, particularly considering CONCACAF giants Mexico, USA and Canada didn’t take part as they automatically qualified as cohosts. Panama managed to make it all the way to the final of the Nations League, defeating Costa Rica and USA on the way to losing to Mexico in the final, marking their best finish. A few months later they entered the Gold Cup where they topped their group with three wins out of three, but lost to USA in the quarter finals. Panama lost all three of their group games in their last World Cup outing, including a 1-6 defeat to England, who they will face again this summer. They will be confident to go one better this time around with the greater experience the nation has had in major tournaments.
Panama have relied on their defensive stubbornness to pick up results in recent tournaments, and their most experienced players, especially in terms of playing in major European leagues, comes at the back. Thirty year old Murillo has played for Anderlecht and Marseille in the past few years, and now plys his trade at Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig. The right back has nine goals in 91 appearances for his country, and has similar records for each of his clubs (10 goals in 107 matches for Anderlecht, 6 goals in 62 games for Marseille and 1 goal in 10 for Besiktas). But he can also supply goals, and will be an important player for Panama this summer.
