Panama squad announced to face TT in qualifier

The last time Panama played in a World Cup qualifier at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, on June 4 2005, TT came away 2-0 winners with Stern John and Dennis Lawrence (now TT assistant coach and coach respectively) scoring in each half.

Panama have included a number of veterans, including goalkeeper Jaime Penedo; defenders Roman Torres and Felipe Baloy; midfielders Anibal Godoy, Armando Cooper and Alberto Quintero; and forwards Luis Tejada and Blas Perez.

Of note is former United States international Tony Taylor, who completed a switch to represent Panama. Having beaten Honduras and holding Mexico to a 0-0 draw, Panama have four points from two games in the Final Round.

Lawrence will announce his final roster on the weekend.

Captain for last Friday’s friendly with Barbados, Marvin Phillip, said he was pleased with the progress shown by the homebased players in the preparations at the moment.“I think the team responded well to what the coach emphasised on in the past training sessions. “Maybe at times we could played at a quicker rate but it was a good outing,” said Phillip.

“So far we’e had a good time training under him. We have a lot of respect towards him and the rest of the staff and I think that is a major factor in the response he is getting from the players.

“We have a few players coming into the squad next week and it’s just about getting the camaraderie and love gong again and put all our energies into the training and going out there and getting it right in these two games against Panama and Mexico,” Phillip added.

Tickets for both World Cup qualifiers are available at Lotto Locations nationwide. They are priced at $300 (covered) and $160 (uncovered) per game up until Friday and, from Saturday until March 28, tickets will be priced at $350 (covered) and $200 (uncovered) per game.

Panama team (clubs in brackets) - GOALKEEPERS: Jaime Penedo (Dinamo Bucharest), Jose Calderon (Real Cartagena).

DEFENDERS: Roman Torres (Seattle Sounders), Felipe Baloy (Tauro), Harold Cummings (San Jose Earthquakes), Amir Murillo (New York Red Bulls), Luis Ovalle (Zamora), Adolfo Machado (Houston Dynamo), Fidel Escobar (Sporting Lisbon B), Erick Davis (Dunajska Streda).

MIDFIELDERS: Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Armando Cooper (Toronto FC), Miguel Camargo (NYCFC), Ricardo Avila (Koper), Edgar Barcenas (Tapachula), Gabriel Gomez (Atletico Bucaramanga), Amilcar Henriquez (Arabe Unido), Josiel Nunez (Plaza Amador), Alberto Quintero (Universitario).

FORWARDS: Blas Perez (Blooming), Abdiel Arroyo (Danubio), Luis Tejada (Universitario), Tony Taylor (Pacos de Ferreira), Gabriel Torres (Lausanne Sport).