SCOUTING REPORT

PANAMA marked their World Cup debut with five yellow cards in a 3-0 defeat by Belgium, the most bookings for one team since Holland’s disciplinary meltdown in the 2010 final against Spain. They are strong, athletic and determined to make up for what they lack in quality with effort. ‘We came here to learn and compete,’ said goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. They are 5,000-1 to win the World Cup and ranked No 55 in the world but, in this boxing-mad nation, they know how to scrap.

COACH

HERNAN GOMEZ is a 62-yearold Colombian participating at his fifth World Cup. He was part of Colombia’s coaching team at Italia 90 and USA 94 and was in charge at France 98. He took charge again in 2010 but stepped down after allegations of assault on a woman in a bar in Bogota. He issued an apology but it was not enough to save his job.

Panama are the second side he has led to a World Cup debut, after Ecuador in 2002.

TACTICS

PANAMA have adopted a defensive 4-1-4-1. The back four is screened by Gabriel Gomez, who did not misplace any of his 46 passes against Belgium. Panama blamed a shaky start in that game on emotion, before growing in confidence, improving, and then buckling once they went behind and took more risks. They have a reputation for crowding midfield and scoring few goals. They qualified ahead of Honduras on goal difference, having conceded just 10 in 10 games. They are quick out wide, the full-backs attack and they are a threat from setpieces. They have an experienced squad who are used to playing together: six players have at least 100 caps.