By Carlos Calvo
June 2 (Reuters) - Panama will play in their second World Cup as Central America's only representative, aiming to raise the region's profile and showcase recent progress under manager Thomas Christiansen.
The 53-year-old Dane, appointed in July 2020 to replace Argentina's Americo Gallego, hopes to cap his six-year tenure with an historic performance - which for Panama would mean achieving their first win in a match on the global stage.
In their first-ever World Cup appearance at Russia
2018, the country finished bottom of Group G after defeats by Belgium, England and Tunisia, conceding 11 goals and scoring two.
"What we've done in these years is compete with top national teams. We're no longer being outplayed, we can beat them," Christiansen said in a March interview with FIFA, despite facing an uphill task against two European sides in their group.
"That's what we want against Ghana, Croatia and England: to compete and put Panama on the global map so the country can feel proud of its national team," he added, referring to their Group L rivals.
Panama last year finished runners-up to Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League, after beating the United States in the semi-finals, but were knocked out of the Gold Cup in the quarter-finals by Honduras - a major upset after reaching the final two years earlier when they lost to Mexico.
The Central American team also reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa America, beating the U.S. and Bolivia in the group stage before being thrashed by eventual runners-up Colombia.
When Christiansen took over Panama were 81st in the FIFA rankings but they have climbed to 33rd. That improvement has seen the Dane linked with a potential move to Europe after the World Cup.
"It's not usual to stay so many years in one place, but that's part of soccer," he said in March.
"If things are going well and you feel comfortable, it's a reason to stay. My ideal dream is to have a good World Cup, compete as best as possible and advance from the group."
Christiansen will rely on 27-year-old Pumas midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla and 2025 Gold Cup top scorer Ismael Diaz as he looks to realise that ambition.
Panama open their World Cup campaign on June 17 against Ghana in Toronto, face Croatia at the same venue six days later and close the group stage against England in New Jersey.
(Reporting by Carlos Calvo Pacheco in Mexico City; Additional reporting and writing by Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Javier Leira and Ken Ferris)
