Panama's first World Cup was Russia 2018; 2026 is only their SECOND appearance — and their first time as one of the host confederation's qualifiers for an expanded tournament.
The squad's freshest forward — a Saprissa striker with a handful of caps but four goals already, the youthful spark amid Panama's grizzled, experienced core.
Overtook Gabriel Gómez to become Panama's all-time appearance leader — and still wears the armband at his second World Cup.
"El Matador" — the nation's record scorer. Died in January 2024, aged 41; his record still stands.
⚠ The most-used eleven in recent matches under Thomas Christiansen (June 2026) — a snapshot of recent form, never a forecast.
| PLAYER | POS | ERA | CAPS | GLS | FILE NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Tejada #18 | FW | 2001–2017 | 108 | 43 | "El Matador" — record scorer, 43 goals, and the striker every Canalero defence was measured against. |
| Blas Pérez #7 | FW | 2001–2016 | 123 | 42 | The other half of the great strike duo; led the line at the 2018-bound generation's peak. |
| Jaime Penedo #1 | GK | 2003–2018 | 137 | 0 | The Gold Cup penalty king who kept Panama in countless games they had no business surviving. |
| Felipe Baloy #23 | DF | 2001–2018 | 103 | 4 | Scored the country's first World Cup goal at 37 — the most beloved consolation in Panamanian history. |
| Román Torres #5 | DF | 2005–2019 | 120 | 10 | His 88th-minute thunderbolt in 2017 sent Panama to its first World Cup — and a national holiday followed. |
| Gabriel Gómez #6 | MF | 2003–2018 | 148 | 12 | The metronome — held the caps record for years and completed every pass on his World Cup debut. |
| Julio Dely Valdés #9 | FW | 1991–2005 | 44 | 18 | Panama's pioneer abroad — Nantes, PSG, Málaga — long before the World Cup dream felt real. |
| Jorge Dely Valdés #11 | FW | 1991–2005 | 48 | 19 | Julio's twin and strike partner; together the brothers carried a generation that never quite reached the finals. |
| Gabriel Torres #9 | FW | 2005–2022 | 105 | 23 | Scorer of the infamous "phantom goal" against Costa Rica that helped book the 2018 ticket. |
| Armando Cooper #14 | MF | 2006–2022 | 123 | 9 | Box-to-box engine of the breakthrough era — a Gold Cup and World Cup regular in midfield. |
For most of a century Panama were CONCACAF's nearly-men — three Gold Cup finals lost, a single regional cup, and a World Cup that always belonged to someone else. Then Román Torres swung his boot in 2017 and the dam broke. Russia 2018 was a baptism by fire (three losses, eleven conceded) softened by Baloy's unforgettable goal. Now, older and harder, Los Canaleros return for a second go. The Almanac files them under 'persistence rewarded' — and roots for them quietly.