Panama City (EFE).- The return of the historic midfielder Alberto ‘Negrito’ Quintero marked this Tuesday the presentation of the list of 26 players called up by Thomas Christiansen to represent Panama in the FIFA World Cup 2026, which includes Adalberto ‘Coco’ Carrasquilla, whose presence generated doubts in the last hours due to an injury that turned out to be less serious than it seemed.

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Quintero integrates a call-up that maintains the base of the team that obtained the ticket to the World Cup, with references such as Carrasquilla, Aníbal Godoy, Michael Amir Murillo, José Fajardo and Cecilio Waterman. ‘Negrito’ Quintero returns to the Panamanian national team

The experienced midfielder, currently a player for Plaza Amador in local football, returns to the national team after not having been part of the recent process led by coach Christiansen. His call also has a special symbolic charge, after missing the last World Cup due to an injury suffered in the friendly against Denmark. His present in local football and his international experience ended up convincing the Spanish-Danish coach.

Cristiansen thus cleared up the doubts about the final list after several days of concentration with an expanded group of 29 players, from which three players were left out and will remain as reserves, including the Botafogo Brazilian striker Kadir Barría, during the preparation prior to the tournament. During the presentation —accompanied by a video in which the surnames of those summoned appeared— the coach highlighted the group’s commitment and assured that the list responds “to the footballing moment, to the team’s balance and to the competitive capacity of the squad, with the aim that Panama surpasses its performance in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Panama Canal hosted the official announcement

The call was announced at an event held on the steps of the Panama Canal Administration Building, in the Panamanian capital. The administrator of the Panama Canal, Ricaurte Vásquez, described the day as special and compared it to the historic December 31, 1999, when Panamanians celebrated the operation of the interoceanic route by the hand of the U.S., which built and administered it for almost the entire 20th century.

“We look forward to celebrating that fourth game,” when we advance to the next round, Vásquez affirmed. Panama will debut on June 17th against Ghana at the Toronto Stadium, in Canada, for Group L, which it also shares with Croatia and England.

Panamanian fans dream of surpassing Russia 2018

The Panamanian team will play a series of friendly matches against Brazil, Dominican Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of the preparation before settling in their base camp in Ontario. The unveiling of the list was followed with anticipation by the Panamanian fans, excited about a new participation in the maximum showcase of world football.

 Panama’s Squad for the 2026 World Cup 🇵🇦⚽

Posición	Jugadores
🧤 Porteros	Orlando Mosquera, Luis Mejía, César Samudio
🛡️ Defensas	César Blackman, Jorge Gutiérrez, Michael Amir Murillo, José Córdoba, Fidel Escobar, Andrés Andrade, Edgardo Fariña, Eric Davis, Jiovanny Ramos, Roderick Miller
⚙️ Centrocampistas	Adalberto Carrasquilla, Aníbal Godoy, Christian Martínez, Edgar Yoel Bárcenas, Carlos Harvey, José Luis Rodríguez, César Yanis, Alberto Quintero, Azarías Londoño
🎯 Delanteros	Ismael Díaz, Cecilio Waterman, José Fajardo, Tomás Rodríguez

📌 Veteran Alberto Quintero returns to the squad with World Cup experience and offensive leadership for Panama’s second historic participation in a World Cup.