A wave of Panamanians wearing the red jersey of the national football team flooded the streets of the capital after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, their second qualification after a landslide victory over El Salvador. Calle 50, the main artery of the city, was flooded with fans celebrating this sporting milestone in the middle of the «patria month», a set of days that honor the historical events that led the country to its independence. «We are excited», «It's our second World Cup» and «We had hopes» are some of the most repeated phrases to EFE by Panamanians. Panamanian fans celebrate on Tuesday in the streets of the capital the qualification of their country's national football team for the 2026 World Cup. «I have a flashback», EFE is told mischievously by the young woman Yeisi Arosemena. In October 2017, the Panamanian national football team managed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia for the first time in its history. On that occasion, Panamanians also filled that main artery of the capital under 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 head of state, José Raúl Mulino, has ruled out that possibility. Despite this, Panamanians have not stopped their excitement from celebrating that entry to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Mexico, the United States and Canada. Dancing in the middle of the street, painted cars, Harley-Davidson-style motorcycles and many flags, Panamanians of all ages «went crazy» for this sporting achievement. 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 madness» to refer 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 main rival of the Central American red. With that stroke of luck, based on the group's points, Panama managed to enter a World Cup for the second time. An example of that emotion for the national football team's World Cup qualification was the tears of coach Tomas Christiansen on the field after the final whistle. «I'm superfeliz that we're going to the World Cup (...) it reminds me exactly like the first time».
