Panama chase first World Cup win as captain Godoy sets sights high

TORONTO, June 16 : Panama captain Anibal Godoy insisted his side were not at the World Cup to make up the numbers as the Central Americans chase their first-ever World Cup victory against an experienced Ghana side in their Group L match on Wednesday.

"We are here to compete. Not only are we going to be competing, we are driven because we want more," Godoy told reporters via a translator in Toronto.

The sole Central American representative at the World Cup this year, Panama are making a second appearance at the global football showpiece, after their debut in 2018 in Russia.

Under Danish head coach Thomas Christiansen, who took the reins in 2020, Los Canaleros have shown a remarkable improvement, rising to 34th from 81st in the FIFA rankings.

Christiansen expects Ghana to be difficult opponents, but trusts his team to earn a win, despite star midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla not being 100 per cent fit.

"He's going to be on the bench, and we are going to see how the match is going to be developing tomorrow," he said.

Christiansen also highlighted the competitiveness of the tournament so far, saying there were no easy games. Panama are sitting in a heavyweight group that also includes England and Croatia.

"We have seen the matches here at the World Cup, they have been incredibly tight, and you cannot really say that one is less than another," he said.

But Panama are ready for a fight as they try to make it past the group stage.

"There are times where you're going to be suffering, you're going to be enduring, you're going to be up against huge squads, but you're going to be suffering as a group," the 53-year-old coach added.

Godoy, meanwhile, will give it his all in what would be his last World Cup, he said.

"We're going to be doing it match per match, and I'm going to be giving the very best that I can," the midfielder said.