FIFA World Cup 2026: Colombia could be a force, Panama far from it

Colombia
There was a time when football fans across the world switched on their television sets only to see Colombian Carlos Valderrama, not just because of his curly afro hairstyle falling up to his shoulder, but also for his remarkable individual brilliance on ball control sporting the No.10 shirt. Diego Maradona was easily the most popular in the 1990s, but Valderrama held his own too!

Attention was riveted on him from the stands, and his rivals on the field did not want to leave him unmarked; he was the midfield general for almost a decade from 1990. He played three World Cups - West Germany 1990, Brazil 1994 and France 1998, ten matches and took his team to the round of 16 in his first World Cup finals appearance.

Valderrrama has left a legacy in Colombia, and the modern generation of players always look up to him for inspiration as they prepare for their seventh participation in an event that brings the World to a virtual standstill.

The fanatics in Bogota and elsewhere in Colombia will look up to Luis Dias, the Bayern Munich professional who creates opportunities from the wide; the 29-year-old was central to the South American country's qualification for the World Cup - seven goals and three assists. He was placed below the top-scoring Argentine magician Lionel Messi, who completed the qualification tournament with eight goals and three assists.

Diaz has played in 73 internationals and found the target on 22 occasions. After a four-season stint with Liverpool, Diaz debuted in the Bundesliga this season, started in 27 of the 32 matches he played, scored 15 and assisted in fourteen.
Clearly, coach Nestor Lorenzo will depend on Diaz to create chances along with James Rodriguez, the golden boot winner of 2014 and who brings in a 111- match experience, centre back Davison Sanchez and attackers Jhon Arias and Jhon Córdoba.
Colombia finished third in its group of the World Cup qualifier behind Argentina and Ecuador with a 7 (wins)-7-'(draws)- 4 (loss) result from 18 home and away matches. After clinching its berth, Colombia has recorded six wins in friendlies, but lost 1-2 to Croatia and 1-3 to France before beating Costa Rica 3-1 on the 2nd of this month. It started with a 4-2-3-1 formation against Costa Rica and France.

It will play one more warm-up against Jordan before looking to get past the group stage, which has Uzbekistan, DR Congo and Portugal. It will be the first international between Colombia and Portugal, a match Ronaldo's team would be looking at with all seriousness.

The yellow shirts did not qualify for Qatar in 2022, but must be hoping to enter the round of 32. Not seen in the same ilk as Brazil, Argentina, Lorenzo's team must become desperate in order to make the big splash.
Panama

The Central American nation, Panama, went down 2-6 to the Samba boys on June 1 at Rio in a FIFA Friendly. It shot in two goals, but the margin of defeat actually reflected the class of calibre of the team and, most importantly, the gap. Panama booked its place in the final, taking the top position in their qualifier group that has Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador with 12 points and a goal difference of five (9-4).

Coach Thomas Christiansen has a task at hand. He has been operating from the team touch line since 2020. He has played for different clubs in Denmark, Spain and Germany over a period of 15 years and knows the hard facts of playing internationally, which he did for Spain on two occasions.

After the rout by Brazil, the team recovered quickly to get the better of the Dominican Republic 4-2. It's the second match it won after the World Cup qualification, the first one happening against South Africa with a 2-1 scoreline. It lost to Mexico, drew with Bolivia and South Africa in another match.

It has a warm-up match against Bosnia & Herzegovina before it faces the big guns in England, Croatia and Ghana in the World Cup tournament proper. With these results, on the road to the Cup games, Panama faces the possibility of an early exit. After a dismal 3-0 score against three teams - Tunisia, Belgium and England at Russia 2018, Panama must have prepared for better outcomes, but it appears its planning is not enough. It lost 0-3 to Belgium, 1-6 to England and 1-2 to Tunisia in Russia.

Coach Christiansen's aim will be to get the organised with structure, discipline and be competent. The World Cup will be a breakthrough event for the teenage striker Kadir Barria, who scored the winning goal against Bolivia.