Panama begin training for World Cup qualifiers

Panama City, Aug 27 (IANS)

Panama’s national football team led by Julio Cesar Dely Valdes began training Monday for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying Tournament where they go up against Jamaica and Honduras Sep 6 and 10, respectively.

The first of the two games, part of the Pre-World Cup Tournament organised by CONCACAF (Confederation of North American, Central American and Caribbean Association Football), will be played here at the Rommel Fernandez Stadium while the second will be played away in Honduras, reports Xinhua.

Last week he announced the list of players who will form the team. Panama’s qualifying tournament line-up, which will be competing for one of three CONCACAF slots to the World Cup in Brazil, is basically the same one that surprised fans around the world with its performance at the recent Gold Cup in the United States. Panama finished runners-up losing 0-1 to the hosts.

The main change to the line-up is the inclusion of forward Alcibiades Rojas, who had been out with an injury.

Last week, the coach had said forward Blas Perez and defender Felipe Baloy will sit out the first match against Jamaica, after collecting yellow cards. Fullback Leonel Parris will also sit out due to an injury.