The Panama national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Panamá) represents

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

in men's international football and is governed by the

Panamanian Football Federation The Panamanian Football Federation ( es, Federación Panameña de Fútbol), known as FEPAFUT, is the official governing body of football in Panama and is in charge of the Panama national football team. FEPAFUT was a founding member of CONCACAF ...

. The team represents all three FIFA,

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...

and the regional

UNCAF The Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (Central American Football Union), more commonly known by the acronym UNCAF, represents the national football teams of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Pa ...

. Panama qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

for the first time for the 2018 tournament in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and scored their first goal of the World Cup against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, although they lost the match 6–1. They finished bottom of their group. Panama finished as runners-up in the

2005 Gold Cup The 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the eighth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gold Cup, the association football, football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was contested in the United States in July 200 ...

and 2013 Gold Cup, losing to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on both occasions. Panama has also competed in the sub-regional

Copa Centroamericana The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' ( UNCAF), the sport's Central A ...

which they won in 2009, beating Costa Rica in the final (0–0 on full-time, 5–3 on penalties). They finished in third place on three occasions (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, 2011,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

), and finished as runners-up behind Honduras in the 2017 edition, which they hosted. The national team is nicknamed "Los Canaleros" ("The Canal Men"), in reference to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

History

Before 21st century

2011 Gold Cup

In the 2011 Gold Cup, Panama was placed into Group C with Canada, United States, and Guadeloupe. They debuted with a 3–2 win over Guadeloupe. In the next match, they beat the United States 2–1. Then they tied 1–1 against Canada, winning their group for the first time in the Gold Cup. They played against El Salvador in the quarter-finals, beating them 5–3 on penalties. They played against the United States again, this time in the semi-finals, although they lost 1–0.

2013 Gold Cup

In the 2013 Gold Cup, Panama began with a 2–1 win over Mexico, with Gabriel Torres scoring both goals. In the second match, Panama beat Martinique 1–0 with Gabriel Torres scoring the only goal. With two victories, they secured their qualification to the knockout stages. Already being qualified, they tied 0–0 against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

securing the first place in their group. They easily beat

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

6-1 and qualified for the semi-finals with

Blas Pérez Blas Antonio Pérez Ortega (born 13 March 1981) is a Panamanian footballer who plays as a forward for the Dallas Sidekicks in the Major Arena Soccer League. Club career Pérez began his career in his native Panama with Panamá Viejo. He made ...

and Gabriel Torres scoring two goals each. They faced Mexico again in the semifinals and beat them 2–1 to advance to the final for the second time in the competition against the United States, which was their opponent in the 2005 final and beat them on penalties. The Panamanians couldn't get their revenge on them and lost 0–1 with a goal from Brek Shea.

2014 World Cup qualifying

Panama came close to advancing out of the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

of qualifiers for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

. In their last match, which was against the

, they led 2–1 after 90 minutes and were assured to advance to a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, but conceded two goals in stoppage time and were eliminated, with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

taking the playoff slot instead.

2015 Gold Cup

In the 2015 Gold Cup, Panama was drawn into Group A, along with the United States, Haiti, and Honduras. All of their games were a 1–1 draws. However this was enough to advanced to the knockout stage as the best ranked third place. In the Quarter-Finals, they played against

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...

, drawing 1-1 after 90 minutes and defeating them 6–5 on penalties. They advanced to the semi-finals against Mexico. Roman Torres scored on behalf of Panama and Andres Guardado scored for Mexico. The first 90 minutes ended in a 1–1 draw. Panama was then defeated 2–1 in extra time after referee

Mark Geiger Mark William Geiger (born August 25, 1974) is an American sports administrator and former soccer referee. He is the senior director of match officials at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees domestic referees in Major Lea ...

gave Mexico a penalty, which Andres Guardado also scored. With this result, Panama earned the chance to play the third place playoff against the United States. The score was 1-1 after extra time and Panama won 3–2 on penalties, giving them the third place. Mexico ended up defeating Jamaica in the final to crown themselves champions.

2018 World Cup qualifying

Four years after failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, ''Los Canaleros'' finally qualified for the World Cup after defeating Costa Rica 2−1 in their final qualifying match, which meant that the United States, who lost to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

2–1, failed to qualify for the first time since 1986. Román Torres, who scored the winning goal in the 87th minute, was subsequently considered a national hero. The day after the match, the President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela declared a national holiday to commemorate the achievement, stating on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

profile: "The voice of the people has been heard... Tomorrow will be a national holiday".

2018 World Cup

The national football team of Panama were drawn in Group G, together with European giants

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

and the African side

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Their debut World Cup match was against Belgium, on 18 June 2018. ''Los Canaleros'' initially held on, with the score 0–0 at half-time, before eventually suffering a 3–0 loss. Six days later, Panama faced England, and this time succumbed to a 6–1 defeat;

Felipe Baloy Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez (born 24 February 1981) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He scored Panama’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, against England at the 2018 edition. Early life He was the ...

's late goal was the nation's first at a World Cup, but it was not enough to save them from elimination. A 2–1 loss to Tunisia in their final game meant that Panama finished bottom of their group - and 32nd and last in the tournament overall - having lost all three of their games and conceded eleven goals.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2022

2023

Managers

:Caretaker managers are listed in ''italics''. * Romeo Parravicini (1938) * Manuel Sánchez Durán (1941) * Emel Ospino (1946) * Óscar Rendoll Gómez (1946, 1951) * Óscar Suman Carrillo (1949) * Gilberto Casanova (1950) * Moses Stern (1950) * Rogelio Díaz (1952) * Emel Ospino (1956) * José Bech Casablanca (1961, 1967) * Raúl "Che" Álvarez (1963–64) *

Luis Carlos Ponce Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

(1967) * Néstor Valdez Moraga (1969) * Renato Panay (1976) * Omar Muraco (1978) * Edgardo Bone Baldi (1979) * Luis Borghini (1980) * Rubén Cárdenas (1980) * Orlando Muñoz (1984, 1995) *

Carlos Cavagnaro Carlos Albert Cavagnaro (born 9 April 1946 in Necochea, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football manager. He became the youngest football manager in the history of the Argentine Primera when he took charge of Argentinos Juniors in 1969 aged 22. C ...

(1984) * Juan Colecchio (1986–1987) *

Miguel Mansilla Miguel Ángel Mansilla Acuña (25 April 1953 – 26 June 2013) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Cerro Largo, Mansilla came through the youth ranksGustavo de Simone (1992) * César Maturana (1995–96) * Óscar Aristizábal (1999) * Ezequiel Fernandez (2000) * Leopoldo Lee (2000) *

Mihai Stoichiță Mihai Cristian Stoichiță (born 10 May 1954) is a Romanian football manager who last coached Liga I side Petrolul Ploiești. Coaching career Stoichiță joined Steaua București in 1994 as an assistant coach under Dumitru Dumitriu. When D ...

(2001) * Billy Stenning (2001–02) * Carlos Alberto da Luz (2002–03) * José Eugenio Hernández (2004–05) * ''

Julio Dely Valdés Julio César Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a twin brother of Jorge Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colón, Dely ...

'' (2006) * '' Víctor René Mendieta'' (2006) * Alexandre Guimarães (2006–08) * Gary Stempel (2008–09) *

(2010–13, 2019) * Hernán Darío Gómez (2014–2018) * Gary Stempel (2018–2019) *

Américo Gallego Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career. Playing career As a player, Gallego debuted ...

(2019–2020) *

Thomas Christiansen Thomas Christiansen Tarín (born 11 March 1973) is a former footballer who played as a striker, currently the manager of Panama. Left-footed, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish and German football over a 15-year professional ...

(2020–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

on 6, 10 and 18 November 2022. ''Caps and goals correct as of 12 June 2022, after the match against

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the past year. ^INJ Withdrew due to injury.
^COV Withdrew due to COVID-19
^PRE Preliminary squad.
^RET Retired from the national team.
^SUS Serving Suspension.
^WD Withdrew for personal reasons.

Player records

: :''Players in bold are still active with Panama.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Nations League

Copa América

:''¹ Ecuador 1993 was the first time nations from outside the CONMEBOL were invited.'' :''² United States 2016 was the first time nations from outside the CONMEBOL could qualify and host.''

Copa Centroamericana

CCCF Championship

Head-to-head results

''Updated as for 18 November 2022.''

Honours

* CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup :* Silver: 2005,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

:* Bronze: 2011, 2015 *

:* Champions: 2009 :* Silver: 2007,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

:* Bronze: