ThePanama national football team (Spanish:Selección de fútbol de Panamá) representsPanama in men's internationalfootball, which is governed by theFederación Panameña de Fútbol (English:Panamanian Football Federation) founded in 1937. It has been an affiliate member ofFIFA since 1938 and a founding affiliate member ofCONCACAF since 1961. Regionally, it is an affiliate member ofUNCAF in the Central American Zone. From 1938 to 1961, it was a member ofCCCF, the former governing body of football in Central America and Caribbean and a predeccessor confederation of CONCACAF, and also a member ofPFC, the former unified confederation of the Americas, from 1946 to 1961.
This sectionis missing information about the Panama football team prior to 21st century. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(November 2020)
In the2011 Gold Cup, Panama was placed into Group C with Canada, United States, andGuadeloupe. They debuted with a 3–2 win over Guadeloupe. In the next match, they beat the United States 2–1. Then they tied 1–1 against Canada, winning their group for the first time in the Gold Cup. They played againstEl Salvador in the quarter-finals, beating them 5–3 on penalties. They played against the United States again, this time in the semi-finals, although they lost 1–0.
In the2013 Gold Cup, Panama began with a 2–1 win over Mexico, withGabriel Torres scoring both goals. In the second match, Panama beat Martinique 1–0 with Gabriel Torres scoring the only goal. With two victories, they secured their qualification to the knockout stages. Already being qualified, they tied 0–0 againstCanada securing the first place in their group. They easily beatCuba 6-1 and qualified for the semi-finals withBlas Pérez and Gabriel Torres scoring two goals each. They faced Mexico again in the semifinals and beat them 2–1 to advance to the final for the second time in the competition against the United States, which was their opponent in the 2005 final and beat them on penalties. The Panamanians could not get their revenge on them and lost 0–1 with a goal fromBrek Shea.
Panama came close to advancing out of thefourth round ofqualifiers for the2014 World Cup. In their last match, which was against theUnited States, they led 2–1 after 90 minutes and were assured to advance to aplay-off againstNew Zealand, but conceded two goals in stoppage time and were eliminated, withMexico taking the playoff slot instead.[8]
In the2015 Gold Cup, Panama was drawn into Group A, along with the United States,Haiti, andHonduras. All of their games were a 1–1 draws. However this was enough to advance to the knockout stage as the best ranked third place. In the quarter-finals, they played againstTrinidad and Tobago, drawing 1–1 after 90 minutes and defeating them 6–5 on penalties. They advanced to the semi-finals against Mexico; Roman Torres scored on behalf of Panama and Andres Guardado scored for Mexico. The first 90 minutes ended in a 1–1 draw; Panama was then defeated 2–1 in extra time after refereeMark Geiger gave Mexico a penalty, which Andres Guardado also scored. With this result, Panama earned the chance to play the third place playoff against the United States. The score was 1–1 after extra time and Panama won 3–2 on penalties, giving them third place. Mexico ended up defeating Jamaica in the final to crown themselves champions.
Four years after failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup,Los Canaleros finally qualified for the World Cup after defeatingCosta Rica 2−1 in their final qualifying match,[9] which meant that the United States, who lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2–1, failed to qualify for the first time since1986.[10]Román Torres, who scored the winning goal in the 87th minute, was subsequently considered a national hero.[11] The day after the match, thePresident of PanamaJuan Carlos Varela declared anational holiday to commemorate the achievement, stating on hisTwitter profile: "The voice of the people has been heard... Tomorrow will be a national holiday".[12][13]
The national football team of Panama were drawn inGroup G, together with European giantsBelgium andEngland and the African sideTunisia.[14] Their debut World Cup match was against Belgium, on 18 June 2018.Los Canaleros initially held on, with the score 0–0 at half-time, before eventually suffering a 3–0 loss.[15][16] Six days later, Panama faced England, and this time succumbed to a 6–1 defeat;Felipe Baloy's late goal was the nation's first at a World Cup, but it was not enough to save them from elimination.[17] A 2–1 loss to Tunisia in their final game meant that Panama finished bottom of their group - and 32nd and last in the tournament overall - having lost all three of their games and conceded eleven goals.
The following players were called up to the preliminary squad for thefriendly matches againstBolivia andMexico on 18 and 22 January 2026, respectively.[18][19][20][21]
Caps and goals correct as of 22 January 2026, after the match againstMexico.
INJ Withdrew due to injury / absent form the national team due to injury. COV Withdrew due to COVID-19 PRE Preliminary squad. RET Retired from the national team. SUS Serving Suspension. WD Withdrew for personal reasons.
Official subregional competition organized byCCCF, direct predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and the former governing body of football in Central America and Caribbean (1938–1961).
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