Panama

There are so many adjectives that could be used to describe the World Cup phenomenon. Global, unifying, sensational, passionate, exciting, massive, momentous…  fortuitous.

Did you know that the upcoming World Cup would be the largest sports betting event? Millions of punters around the world will be glued to the their TV and phone screens—watching matches, staying updated with the results, listening to expert analysis, trawling bookmakers’ sites for the best odds. It will be four weeks of football craziness. You know it.

Panama squad & Panama starting eleven

In preparation for this huge event, we have done our homework on each of the 32 World Cup teams. You’ve arrived at the guide to Panama. The Los Canaleros of Panama will be playing at the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever.

They will be playing against England, Belgium and Tunisia. Since they are absolute newcomers, we knew you’d need help understanding the odds on Panama winning World Cup 2018.

Panama World Cup 2018: World Cup History

Panama qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time ever. Panama is a football-mad nation and as you can imagine, the people went crazy.

Karol Elizabeth Lara, a sports journalist for the newspaper Panama America, told BBC Sport: “People were crying and it a very emotional moment in our history. Our population is around four million and about two million were out on the streets that evening.” The following day was even declared a national holiday by president Juan Carlos Varela.

Panama qualified for the World Cup with a dramatic 2-1 win over Costa Rica. It was the final matchday for CONCACAF qualifications. Costa Rica had already booked their place in Russia, but Panama needed a goal to progress automatically.

The game started out with Panama on the back foot. Panama trailed Costa Rica 0-1 until the 52nd minute. Gabriel Torres scored a goal and it was a controversial one as it did not appear to cross the line. In the 88th minute, a flick-on landed in Roman Torres’ path and he sent it into the roof of the net. The stadium erupted.

Panama World Cup 2018: Team

Leading Panama’s squad will be central defender, Roman Torres. It was Torres that scored the winning goal. He had celebrated so joyfully that he even received a yellow-card for over-exuberant celebration.

However, Panama’s main scorer is 37-year old forward, Blas Perez. Perez has racked up 100 appearances for his national team, including four World Cup qualifying campaigns. In these World Cup qualifiers, Perez had scored 11 goals.

Coach, Hernan Dario Gomez has played a vital role in their ascent to FIFA World Cup finals. The Columbian took on the role in 2014 and has experience coaching Columbia and Ecuador in the previous World Cups. They call him “El Bolillo” in Panama, which means The Baton or The Bludgeon, so you can imagine what his style is like.

Anyway, Gomez acknowledges that Panama “isn’t going to the World Cup to become champions,” given their lack of history, experience and sporting infrastructure. The odds on Panama to win world cup 2018 are incredibly low. However, his players “will go to (Russia) to play good soccer.”

Panama World Cup 2018 Squad: Final 23 to Be Confirmed

Goalkeepers: Jose Calderon (Chorrillo), Jaime Penedo (Dinamo Bucharest), Alex Rodriguez (San Francisco).

Defenders: Azmahar Ariano (Patriots), Felipe Baloy (Municipal CSD), Harold Cummings (San Jose Earthquakes), Eric Davis (Dunajska Streda), Fidel Escobar (New York Red Bulls), Adolfo Machado (Houston Dynamo), Michael Murillo (New York Red Bulls), Luis Ovalle (Olimpia), Francisco Palacios (San Francisco), Richard Peralta (Alliance), Roman Torres (Seattle Sounders).

Midfielders: Ricardo Avila (Gent), Edgar Barcenas (Cafetaleros de Tapachula), Ricardo Buitrago (Municipal), Miguel Camargo (Universidad San Martin), Adalberto Carrasquilla (Tauro), Armando Cooper (Universidad de Chile), Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Gabriel Gomez (Bucaramanga), Jose Gonzalez (Union Comercio), Cristian Martinez (Columbus Crew), Valentin Pimentel (Plaza Amador), Alberto Quintero (Universitario), Jose Luis Rodriguez (Gent).

Forwards: Abdiel Arroyo (Alajuelense), Rolando Blackburn (Chorrillo), Ismael Diaz (Deportivo La Coruna), Jose Fajardo (Independiente), Roberto Nurse (Mineros Zacatecas), Blas Perez (Municipal), Luis Tejada (Sports Boys), Gabriel Torres (CD Huachipato).

As you can see, the Panamanians have little world-class experience amongst them. Only three of their players play in Europe. Again, it reminds punters to be realistic when considering the odds Panama win world cup 2018.

Panama World Cup 2018 Odds

Here are the betting odds Panama to win World Cup 2018:

Win Odds for Panama World Cup 2018 Matches

According to the odds Panama world cup 2018 above, Panama are underdogs of the group. Panama stands a strongest chance against Tunisia.

Betting Odds for Panama World Cup 2018 Matches

  • Panama vs. Belgium (Monday, 18th June 2018)
    • Belgium: 1/6
    • Panama: 11/2
    • Draw: 20
  • Panama vs. England (Friday, 24th June 2018)
    • England: 2/9
    • Panama: 5
    • Draw: 14
  • Panama vs. Tunisia (Thursday, 28th June 2018)
    • Tunisia: 5/4
    • Draw: 21/10
    • Panama: 12/5

Odds of Panama World Cup Top Goalscorer

  • No Panama goalscorer: 4
  • Gabriel Torres: 9/2
  • Abdiel Arroyo: 5
  • Armando Cooper: 6
  • Blas Perez: 5

Odds on Panama Winning 2018 World Cup

The current odds for Panama to win world cup 2018 stands at 1000. Indeed, no one expects these World Cup debutantes to progress past the group stage. But they have made their nation proud for coming this far. In case you were wondering, the odds for Panama’s stage of elimination are as follows:

  • Group Stage: 1/16
  • Last 16: 9
  • Quarter Final: 40
  • Semi Final: 150
  • Runner Up: 500
  • Winner: 1000

Panama World Cup 2018 Fixtures

If you want to see how Panama to win world cup 2018 odds measures against reality, catch their matches at these following times:

Panama vs. Belgium: Monday 18th June, 6:00 PM (Local Time), Fisht Stadium, Sochi

Panama vs. England: Sunday 24th June, 3:00 PM (Local Time), Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod

Panama vs. Tunisia: Thursday 28th June, 9:00 PM (Local Time), Mordovia Arena, Saransk

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