The forty-fifth ranked team in the FIFA world rankings as of April 4th, 2024 looks to move up in the rankings following the 2024 Copa América. The Panama national football team looks to represent CONCACAF well after a fourth-place finish in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals in March of 2024. The team has been on the rise over the past decade. In 2014, they were knocked out of a playoff spot for the 2014 World Cup by the United States who overtook the Panamanian 2-1 lead with two goals in stoppage time. Nothing is given in CONCACAF football, everything is earned. Following this heart-breaking loss to the United States, the Panama team took revenge in the third-place match of the 2015 Gold Cup against the United States by winning in penalties.
Los Canaleros, translated to the The Canal Men, brought their talents to the world stage when they qualified for their first ever World Cup in 2018 by defeating Costa Rica 2-1 in their final qualifying match. The Canal Men have a way with water that may have helped bring rain to their CONCACAF neighbor Trinidad and Tobago whose flooded pitch was host to the United States losing in their final qualifying providing a waterway to Russia for the Canal Men following their win.
Their ways with water were proved incorrect with the nightmare of a storm that was brought upon their football abilities when placed in Group G of the 2018 World Cup along with Belgium, England, and Tunisia. They failed to win or draw any games while only scoring two goals and allowing eleven.
Despite their misfortune in worldwide tournaments, they come into the 2024 Copa América in good form, coming off a 2023 Gold Cup second place finish and 2023 and 2024 CONCACAF Nations League fourth place finish.
In 2020, the Panamanians brought in Thomas Christiansen to lead their team. The Danish man had a great career where he played for the likes of Barcelona, Villarreal, Hannover 96, and the Spanish National Team due to his Spanish mother. He looks to use his vast playing experience from playing under Johan Cruyff and others in order to bring Los Canaleros to the next level. Two key players to look for in his squad are Adalberto Carrasquilla and Ismael Diaz. Carrasquilla is a midfield artist who currently plays for the Houston Dynamo. He has been in a great run of form and is coming off of receiving the Golden Ball in the 2023 Gold Cup. He looks to be the main playmaker for the Panamanian team though controlling the midfield with his strength, creativity, and passing ability. Diaz has spent time in Portugal playing and now plays for Universidad Catolica in Ecuador where he has scored fifteen goals in thirty-four appearances. He finished second in scoring in the 2023 Gold Cup with four goals. He aims to be a goalscoring threat to get Panama on the board early and often.
Los Canaleros drew a daunting group of Uruguay, Bolivia, and CONCACAF rival, the United States. Due to this challenging group, they hope to find a way out of the group stage with the help of Carrasquilla and Diaz bringing life to their team.
Check out Adalberto Carrasquilla's Highlights