England’s Premier League stars may be in for one hell of a surprise when they meet World Cup minnows Panama in Nizhny Novgorod in June. The 53rd best side in the world, according to the FIFA rankings, gave Denmark a bruising encounter and even ended the friendly game with ten men.
The Panama manager, Hernan Dario Gomez, set his side out in a 3-4-3 formation which forced his side up the pitch and tight to a talented Denmark side. The hosts, who fielded a strong side including Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen were simply unable to deal with this aggressive style in the opening exchanges.
Los Canaleros, on a poor surface, broke the game up well up against technically superior opposition and their game management was something to be admired, even if their style was not.
It took up until the 69th minute for the hosts to finally get the breakthrough and secure a 1-0 win, but that was after Blas Perez was sent off after a late and high challenge on Kasper Schmeichel. Up until that point, the Panamanians had been a frustrating unit that were clearly out to disrupt the opposition with their time-wasting and niggly fouls and this is something that Gareth Southgate must be wary of when the sides meet in Russia.
The CONCACAF qualifying zone is notoriously tough and Panama have learnt their style to combat that. They may not be the most talented side, but England will know they have been in a game once the sides have met in the second group game of the World Cup.
Southgate’s men will hope they can secure all three points without any serious injuries, but Panama will be hoping they can replicate Iceland two years ago and shock England on the world stage.
England simply cannot afford to take this one lightly otherwise they will be embarrassed. Panama’s aggressive style could rattle a side in this year’s World Cup, let’s hope it is not the Three Lions.
