For the octagonal final of the Concacaf qualifier for Qatar 2022, the canalero team will measure Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico between January 17 and February 1
The technician of the Panama national football team, Thomas Christiansen, summoned this Friday 30 players, highlighting the presence of the striker Ismael Diaz (Catholic University), and stated that the game against Costa Rica, next Thursday, is life or death.
“The match against Costa Rica is life and death and we will go for a positive result, always respecting them, because if we don’t we can fall into a big mistake”, expressed the technician from Panama in a virtual press conference, due to being kept in isolation after being positive for COVID-19.
He clarified that the Costa Rican team has one “last bullet” against their counterpart from Panama if they wish to continue in the fight.
“We have to play the game we did in Panama, because if we go relaxed we may suffer a lot and hope that Keylor (Navas) does not have his best day”, specified the strategist of the Central American red team.
He pondered the two victories he had against the Costa Rican team at the beginning of his tenure in the Panamanian team, but at the same time he was cautious when saying that “From a friendly, to a World Cup qualifying match for the three points, there is a world away.”
The Panamanian coach noted that with the duel against Costa Rica will start for the three points, to put distance from that direct rival, Likewise, with Jamaica, he will try to win at home and see what can be “scratched” in Mexico, where he will close the triple date in January in the Concacaf qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
About the call, Christiansen pointed out that he makes it out of 30 players due to COVID-19 cases in the team and some come out of isolation soon and even so they are not sure they have a large squad to face the matches.
He added that Cecilio Waterman, one of the goalscorers of the Christiansen era, is not on the list due to the fact that the player has an injury to the twins and because of him the presence of the former Porto B player can be noticed and last scorer in the Panamanian league, Ismael Díaz, signed in Ecuador by Universidad Católica.
Another novelty on the list are the four archersEntering this time the goalkeeper César Samudio and the Tauro FC player of Panamanian football, Cristian Quintero.
Also on the list is Considered midfielder Alfredo Stephens, 9 de Octubre signing for the 2022 season in the LigaPro.
In the list of 30 called are considered two other well-known players in Ecuadorian soccer, in case of Joseph Fajardo, who played the last season with the patriots, and Gabriel Torres, which until 2020 played for Independiente del Valle. (D)
Panama squad list:
Goalkeepers: Luis Mejía, Orlando Mosquera, José Calderón, César Samudio.
Defenses: Fidel Escobar, Jorge Gutiérrez, Michael Amir Murillo, Eric Davis, Jovani Ramos, Azmahar Ariano, Andrés Andrade, Harold Cummings, Roderick Miller and César Blackman.
Midfielders: Cristian Martínez, Anibal Godoy, Abdiel Ayarza, Armando Cooper, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Alberto Quintero, César Yanis, Edgar Yoel Bárcenas, José Rodríguez, Freddy Góndola, Alfredo Stephens and Cristian Quintero.
Forwards: José Fajardo, Gabriel Torres, Rolando Blackburn and Ismael Díaz.
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