Panama at the World Cup

A surprise story of the 2018 World Cup was Panama. The central American nation of only 4 million people created history by grabbing the last automatic spot from CONCACAF ahead of the United States.

Panama scored their first goal of the World Cup against England (a goal by Felipe Baloy), although they lost the match 6-1. They went on to lose all three group matches.

2018

Panama didn't make it out of Group G at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

2026

Panama qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their second appearance at the finals after their 2018 debut. They were drawn into Group L alongside England, Croatia, and Ghana.

They lost all three of their matches and finished bottom of the group, going out without scoring a single goal. They were the only team at the 2026 tournament to fail to score, and the first nation to go goalless at a World Cup since 2010.

Trivia

• After 10 failed qualification campaigns since 1978, Panama appeared at the World Cup for the first time in 2018.
• Panama qualified for the women's FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2023.