Panama City, Jun 9 (EFE).- The teams of Panama and Nicaragua will meet this Saturday in a friendly clash prior to their commitments in the Concacaf Nations League and the 2023 Gold Cup.
The coach of the Panamanian team, the Spanish-Danish Thomas Christiansen, pointed out prior to the duel against the Nicaraguans that the game will serve to give minutes and rhythm of competition to regular players and others less used in the Panamanian team.
“Nicaragua is a worthy rival to measure ourselves before going to the final four,” said the helmsman of the Central American red team.
The Panamanian coach stressed that both Nicaragua and Guatemala and all the countries in our area “have made an important leap” and that makes them demanding rivals.
The Panamanian team will play its first game in the Thomas Christiansen era outside the Panamanian capital, this time being the stadium of the Universidad Latina, in Penonomé, in the province of Coclé, 156 kilometers from Panama City, the scene of the duel.
“This match is important and historic, let’s wait for the fan’s response, that they will support the team and show that desire to have soccer not only in Panama City, but also in the interior of the country,” he said.
The Nicaraguan team arrived in Panama last Wednesday and will start a tour of friendly matches against the canaleros, where rivals such as Uruguay and Paraguay also stand out, on June 14 and 18, respectively.
The coach of the well-known Blue and White team, the Chilean Marco Antonio “El Fantasma” Figueroa, stated in previous days to the Panamanian media that the three rivals they will face on this tour, prior to their debut in the Gold Cup, are demanding.
Regarding Panama, next Saturday’s rival, “El Fantasma” stated that “we take this match seriously, because we know that Panama is preparing for important commitments” before the Gold Cup.
He assured that the Nicaraguan team is totally different from the one they have seen before and that it is a team that has won everything by hand.
Within the group of the Pinolera squad, the name of the veteran player Juan “El iluminado” Barrera stands out, who had a brief passage through Panamanian soccer with Tauro FC
The Nicaraguan coach, who called 26 players for this tour, announced that he will use three different lineups to see all the players prior to the 2023 Gold Cup.
possible alignments
Panama: Luis Mejía, Eric Davis, Roderick Miller, Harold Cummings, Kevin Galván; Cristian Martinez, Jovani Welch, Alberto Quintero, Victor Medina, Freddy Gondola; Cecil Waterman.
Coach: Thomas Christiansen
Nicaragua: Miguel Rodriguez; Luis Perez, Christian Kings, Jose Quijano, Oscar Acevedo; Jason Colonel, Jacob Montes, Nextali Rodriguez, John Barrier; Byron Bonilla and Louis Colonel.
Coach: Marco Antonio “El Fantasma” Figueroa.
Referee: To be defined
Stadium: Stadium of the Universidad Latina, with capacity for 3,500 fans and located in Penonomé, Panamanian province of Coclé, 156 kilometers from the Panamanian capital.
Time: 19:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
(c) EFE Agency
2023-06-09 22:38:59
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