Thousands of Panamanians in red national team shirts flooded the streets of the capital after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, their second-ever World Cup qualification after a big win over El Salvador. Calle 50, the city's main artery, was flooded with fans celebrating this sporting milestone in the middle of the 'month of the homeland', a period of days honoring the historical events that led the country to its independence. 'I'm having a flashback', EFE jokingly tells the young woman Yeisi Arosemena. In October 2017, the Panama national football team qualified for the World Cup in Russia for the first time in its history. For that occasion, Panamanians also filled that main artery of the capital, filled with the initial enthusiasm of experiencing entry into a world championship. At that time, the country's president, Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), declared the next day a holiday, although the current president, José Raúl Mulino, has ruled out that possibility. Despite this, Panamanians have not stopped their excitement from celebrating this entry into the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, the United States and Canada. 'We are excited', 'It's our second World Cup' and 'We had hopes' are some of the most repeated phrases that Panamanians tell EFE. Dancing in the middle of the street, painted cars, Harley-Davidson-style motorcycles and many flags, Panamanians of all ages 'went crazy' over this sporting milestone. The music of local artists such as Dangerman, Japanesse or Boza echoed through the streets of Panama City as they jumped and at times threw beer into the air. Most of them shouted 'what a madness' referring to the 3-0 victory against El Salvador, with goals from César Blackman, Eric Davis and José Luis Rodríguez. And it is that the Panamanian team not only won with three clean goals, but Guatemala also scored three other goals against Suriname, the red Central American team's main rival. With this stroke of luck, based on group points, Panama managed to enter a World Cup for the second time. An example of this emotion over the Panamanian national football team's World Cup qualification was the tears of coach Tomas Christiansen on the field after the final whistle. 'I'm super happy that we are going to the World Cup (...) it reminds me exactly of the first time.'
