Panama, without complexes, looks to England, Croatia, and Ghana. Washington, Dec 5 (EFE).- Six months before participating in their second-ever World Cup, Panama's national football team believes it has gained experience from the setbacks suffered at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. From that tournament, which a now-retired generation participated in, remain the defeats by 3-0 to Belgium, 6-1 to England, and 1-2 to Tunisia. Eight years later, the Canaleros are the only Central American team to have secured a visa for the 23rd edition of the World Cup. However, the team led by the Hispanic-Danish Thomas Christiansen has fallen into Group L, a veritable minefield due to the presence of two strong European teams, such as England with striker Harry Kane and Croatia with the talented conductor Luka Modric. At 32, Kane is enjoying an exquisite moment at Bayern Munich, and at 40, Modric is going through another golden moment since arriving at Milan from Real Madrid. Modric, born in Zadar on September 9, 1985, was a Ballon d'Or winner and received FIFA's The Best Men's Player award in 2018 after the tournament that marked Panama's debut and left Croatia in second place after the final with France. The Three Lions and The Vatreni (which can be translated as The Fiery Ones) have achieved significant results in the latest editions of the tournament and qualified at the top of their respective groups in the UEFA qualifiers. The region has also seen Ghana, one of the teams that has shown the most growth. Panama has made speed a hallmark of Christiansen's work, who took over the bench in 2020. The 52-year-old coach led the country of the canal to secure one of the three direct spots reserved for Concacaf with a squad that features standouts like César Blackman, Cecilio Waterman, and Ismael Díaz, who have taken the baton from the 'pioneers' Felipe Baloy, Blas Pérez, and captain Román Torres. Baloy is remembered as the man who scored the only goal for Panama in the World Cup, on June 24, 2018, against England in the second matchday.
