The Panama team left good feelings in its penultimate preparation match for the 2026 World Cup by winning 4-2 over the Dominican Republic in an intense match played in front of its fans at the Rommel Fernández stadium.

The team led by the Canalero team showed forcefulness in attack and reaction capacity in key moments to win a victory that strengthens confidence ahead of the biggest event in international football.

Dominican Republic demanded from the beginning

The Dominican team started the match with an aggressive proposal, putting pressure on the Panamanian exit and seeking to create danger in the rival field.

One of the first opportunities came through Mariano Díaz, who took advantage of an offensive raid by Luiyi de Lucas, although the Panamanian defense responded in time to avoid the fall of his goal.

As the minutes passed, Panama began to control the ball better and generate dangerous approaches. First, Tomás Rodríguez warned in a one-on-one match against goalkeeper Xavier Valdez, while shortly after, Roderick Miller tried to surprise with a long-distance shot.

Tomás Rodríguez paved the way for Panama

The insistence of the Canal team was rewarded in the 17th minute. A poor start by the Dominican goalkeeper allowed Tomás Rodríguez to take advantage of the error to push the ball into the back of the net and establish the 1-0.

Although the Dominican Republic tried to respond quickly with the arrivals of Peter Federico and Jean Carlos López, the local team managed to maintain the advantage.

Before the break came the second blow. At minute 44, a shot by Víctor Griffith ended up deflecting off Luiyi de Lucas, which left the visiting goalkeeper with no chance and meant 2-0 for Panama.

Panama responded every time the Dominican Republic approached

The second half began with an immediate reaction from the visitors. Just in the 47th minute, Mariano Díaz completed an offensive play to score a goal and bring his team closer to the scoreboard.

However, the Panamanian response was forceful. At minute 58, Andrés Andrade filtered a precise pass for Cecilio Waterman, who beat the goalkeeper and calmly finished to make it 3-1.

The Dominican squad did not give up and got back into the game thanks to a powerful shot by Eric Japa in the 65th minute, after taking advantage of a loss of ball by the Panamanian defense.

Kadir Barría sentenced the canal victory

When the Dominican Republic was looking for an equalizer in the final minutes, Panama found the necessary spaces to finish the match.

At minute 89, Kadir Barría appeared to take advantage of one of the last opportunities of the match and sign the final 4-2, a result that sparked celebration among the fans present.

The victory allows the Panama team to maintain a positive dynamic in the final stretch of its preparation for the 2026 World Cup.

Panama is already thinking about Bosnia and its World Cup debut

After beating the Dominican Republic, the Canal team will face one last test before starting their World Cup adventure.

Next Saturday, Panama will face Bosnia in San Luis, in what will be its final test before the expected debut in the 2026 World Cup, scheduled for June 17 against Ghana.

With an effective attack and a squad that continues to fine-tune details, the Panamanian team will seek to arrive in the best possible conditions to the most important competition in international football.