Defensive organization and tactics:

Panama defended with four players in line. Their athleticism and fitness made them difficult to penetrate, remaining organized in the box and particularly strong defending balls in the air. Wide defenders Carlos RIVERA (No. 2), and especially Luis MORENO (No. 3) were given the freedom to go forward and did a good job in their transition back to defense, with the center backs only venturing forward on set pieces. The two defending midfielders were solid on man-marking, but weak on the transition forward once wining the ball. As a team, it moved together well but showed a bit of recklessness in pivotal moments during the important matches, denoting a lack of discipline and mental strength.

Attacking organization and tactics:

Panama lacked versatility in its attack and played the whole tournament with the same tactical alignment, never changing its reliance on the two point forwards: the ineffective Jose Luis GARCES (No. 9), and the more experienced Blas PEREZ (No. 7). They obviously to provide the scoring, but there did not appear to be a clear plan as to how to get the ball to them. Worth noticing was Nelson BARAHONA (No. 10), who was underused and isolated on the left flank and did not get enough of the ball to make an impact. Additionally, Rolando ESCOBAR (No. 20) also showed great ability and could have done better with a more prominent role going forward. Both players were untimely replaced in key moments of the matches. Luis TEJADA (No. 18) showed a lot of promise and scored two goals as a substitute, but never was given the time to contribute in the more important matches.

Key Points: Panama

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