The right-back of Panama's senior national football team, Michael Amir Murillo, highlighted the importance of the friendly matches they will play away against their South African counterparts. Panama will face the 'Bafana Bafana' this Friday, March 27, and Tuesday, March 31, as part of their preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026, in which they are part of Group L alongside Ghana, England, and Croatia. "We want to start now to have a clear idea of what the coach wants and what he has in mind for the World Cup matches," Murillo said from Durban, South Africa, in an interview with the press department of the Panamanian Football Federation (FPF). Murillo, who plays for Besiktas in Turkey, stressed the importance of these matches and the opportunity that this FIFA date represents to bring the squad together, after almost 5 months since their last match in November during the final matchday of the CONCACAF Final Round qualifiers. At yesterday's practice, a total of 18 players were present, and it was held at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in the city of Durban, located about 25 minutes from the team's hotel. The players who joined the camp yesterday were Andrés Andrade, César Blackman, Martín Krug, Jorge Gutiérrez, José Fajardo, César Yanis, Kadir Barría, Ismael Díaz, and Adalberto Carrasquilla. These nine players joined the other nine players who were already in camp to complete the group of 18. Today, Wednesday, the team will train at the same place at 11 in the morning (Panama time), where the presence of all the called-up players is expected.
