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World Cup Trend 👉 : Dele Alli a doubt for Panama match as Gareth Southgate considers Raheem Sterling's spot
There was certainly a chronic lack of pace and mobility in the Panama ranks against Belgium but they strive to make up for that with a strong work ethic and upbeat attitude.
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| Panama's Blas Perez flies in to tackle Toby Alderweireld (left) |
Panama are nothing if not physical, although it should probably be pointed out that the worst tackle in their 3-0 defeat to Belgium was actually made by Kevin De Bruyne two minutes from time, for which the Manchester City midfielder was booked.
Roberto Martinez, the Belgium coach, was distinctly unhappy
afterwards with the treatment Eden Hazard got and goalkeeper Thibaut
Courtois talked about a need for referees to clamp down on the “cheap
and unnecessary tackles” he felt Panama administered.
The Panama defenders, Roman
Torres and Michael Murillo, both received yellow cards for strong
challenges on Hazard. But was this really that different from what the
Chelsea forward gets in the Premier League most weeks?
Most of the bookings Panama racked up - five inside an hour, the most
by a team in a single game at a World Cup since Holland hacked lumps
out of Spain in the 2010 final
Were a consequence of clumsiness and
difficulties dealing with the speed of their opponents than anything
more sinister. Belgium only committed one tackle fewer than Panama’s 18.
“I don’t know what people are complaining about,” Roman Torres, the
Panama centre-half, said. “Football is like that - you always have to
impose yourself, you have to mark out your territory.”
World Cup Trend 👉 : Dele Alli a doubt for Panama match as Gareth Southgate considers Raheem Sterling's spot
A lot of huff and puff... but a lack of mobility
The spine of Panama’s team is ageing. Goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is 36, captain Torres 32, midfield sentry Gabriel Gomez 34 and, up front, Blas Perez is the oldest of the lot at 37.There was certainly a chronic lack of pace and mobility in the Panama ranks against Belgium but they strive to make up for that with a strong work ethic and upbeat attitude.
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The surprise
in the first half, before Belgium’s superior quality told in the
second, was the difficulty Martinez’s men had creating a numerical
advantage in midfield.
Which led to a lot of long balls being pumped
from defence and Hazard having to go it alone at times. If England can create overloads, Panama will be in trouble.
No shortage of confidence but a lack of ideas going forward
Panama may be one of the weakest
teams in the tournament but their pride at reaching a first World Cup
shines through and there is no shortage of confidence that they can beat
or at least frustrate England.
There is a clear belief in their ranks that Belgium would provide their stiffest test in Group G
so England are likely to encounter opponents determined to cause an
upset. Gareth Southgate’s side must show that confidence is misplaced.
“For me, Belgium are a more difficult opponent than England,”
midfielder Jose Luis Rodriguez said. That belief was echoed by the
Panama president, who is in regular conversation with the squad and
coach Hernan Gomez.
“We feel the hard game was today’s,” Juan Carlos
Varela said of the Belgium match as he looked ahead to England.