Panama seals 4-2 victory over Dominican Republic in World Cup send-off

Goals from Rodriguez, Griffith, Waterman, and Barria secured a victory for the home side at the Rommel Fernandez Stadium before their departure for North America.

Foto: EFE

The final testing phase for the 2026 FIFA World Cup generated plenty of drama at the Rommel Fernandez Stadium, as the Panama national team secured a 4-2 victory over the Dominican Republic. This fixture marked the final opportunity for the "Marea Roja" to perform in front of their home crowd before traveling north to compete in World Cup Group L alongside Ghana, England, and Croatia.

Head coach Thomas Christiansen treated the international friendly as a comprehensive tactical laboratory, replacing his entire starting lineup over the course of the ninety minutes. This radical rotation policy resulted in a game of stark contrasts, blending moments of high-octane offensive clinicalness with defensive lapses caused by a lack of cohesion among the second-string players.

The Dominican Republic started brightly with aggressive high pressing, spearheaded by former Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz, who forced early interventions from the Panamanian backline. However, Panama broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when Dominican goalkeeper Xavier Valdez committed a costly error during a clearance, leaving the ball completely loose for Tomas Rodriguez to slot into an empty net. Just before the interval, in the 44th minute, Victor Griffith unleashed a powerful long-range effort that took a massive deflection off Luiyi de Lucas, wrong-footing the goalkeeper to establish a 2-0 lead.

The structural integrity of the home team altered significantly at the start of the second half. Christiansen executed eight substitutions simultaneously to manage workloads, a decision that disrupted Panama’s defensive shape. The Dominican Republic capitalized almost immediately; in the 47th minute, Mariano Diaz clinical finished an incisive counter-attack to pull one back for the visitors.

Panama responded swiftly through the individual quality of their veteran starters. In the 58th minute, Andres Andrade delivered a precise, defense-splitting pass to Cecilio Waterman, who rounded Valdez with ease before rolling the ball into the net to make it 3-1.

The visitors refused to surrender, mounting another offensive surge in the 65th minute. A critical turnover by central defender Fidel Escobar inside his own half allowed Eric Japa to fire a ferocious strike past substitute goalkeeper Luis Mejia Gunn, bringing the scoreline to 3-2. The home crowd endured a brief period of anxiety following another poor clearance by Mejia Gunn, though the Dominican attackers were unable to capitalize on the equalizer.

The definitive breakthrough arrived in the closing stages of the match. With the Dominican Republic pushing all their players forward in search of a draw, Panama exploited the open space. In the 89th minute, Kadir Barria spearheaded a devastating counter-attack to seal the final 4-2 scoreline. The Panamanian squad will depart for the United States on Thursday, where they are scheduled to play their final preparatory friendly against Bosnia in St. Louis this Saturday, before their tournament opener against Ghana on June 17.