Panama has qualified twice for the FIFA World Cup, in 2018 and 2026. In 2018, they directly qualified after securing the third spot in the hexagonal on the final round. This meant that after 10 failed qualification campaigns, Panama appeared at the World Cup for the first time in their history.
Overall record FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1930Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1934 1938Did not enterDeclined participation 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 7 21 1982 8 0 1 7 3 24 1986 2 0 0 2 0 4 1990 2 0 1 1 1 3 1994 2 1 0 1 2 5 1998 8 3 2 3 14 13 2002 10 3 1 6 9 19 2006 18 4 4 10 19 32 2010 2 1 0 1 2 3 2014 20 8 7 5 31 18 2018 Group stage 32nd 3 0 0 3 2 11 Squad 16 6 5 5 16 15 2022Did not qualify 20 11 4 5 38 21 2026 Group stage 43rd 3 0 0 3 0 4 Squad 10 7 3 0 19 5 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total6006215—124452950161183 *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
Russia 2018
Following a 2–1 home win over Costa Rica in the final round of the hexagonal, Panama secured their spot in Russia 2018, finishing third in the CONCACAF qualification. Panama finished 32nd (last) in the World Cup.
Group stage
United States/Canada/Mexico 2026
Cristian Martínez from Panama was voted Most Valuable Player in the match against Croatia.https://www.prensa.com/deportes/cristian-martinez-fue-mvp-en-la-derrota-de-panama-ante-croacia-en-el-mundial-2026/ Panama gave a daring fight against all opponents, which were incumbents in the World Cup.https://www.laestrella.com.pa/amp/deportes/futbol/medios-ingleses-elogian-a-panama-pese-a-la-derrota-contra-equipos-mejores-seras-castigado-LE23639828 Dalic from the Croatia team recognized Panama as a difficult team.https://www.espn.com.pa/futbol/mundial/nota/_/id/16865570/zlatko-dalic-errores-croacia-y-aspectos-a-mejorar-ante-panama Panama finished 43rd in the World Cup, and was the only team in the World Cup to not score any goals.https://www.espn.com.pa/futbol/mundial/nota/_/id/16919759/panam-despedida-mundial-2026-sin-anotar-gol-y-sin-puntos÷
Group stage
Player records Most appearances
Yoel Bárcenas and José Luis Rodríguez were both fielded in all six of Panama's FIFA World Cup matches in 2018 and 2026, making each of them record World Cup players for their country.
RankPlayerMatchesWorld Cups1Yoel Bárcenas62018 and 2026José Luis Rodríguez62018 and 20263Michael Amir Murillo52018 and 20264Eric Davis42018 and 2026Fidel Escobar42018 and 2026Aníbal Godoy42018 and 20267Gabriel Gómez32018Jaime Penedo32018Román Torres32018Andrés Andrade32026José Córdoba32026Ismael Díaz32026José Fajardo32026Carlos Harvey32026Azarias Londoño32026Cristian Martínez32026Orlando Mosquera32026
Goalscorers On 24 June 2018, while trailing 6–0 to England, Felipe Baloy scored off of a long free kick by Ricardo Ávila to record Panama's first ever World Cup goal.
Player Goals 2018 2026 Felipe Baloy 11 Own goals 11 Total 2 2 0
See also North, Central American and Caribbean nations at the FIFA World Cup Panama at the CONCACAF Gold Cup Panama at the Copa América
References
Reports
External links Panama at FIFA.com