Panama women's national football team

The Panama women's national football team () represents Panama in international women's football. The team is overseen by the Federación Panameña de Fútbol. Panama has made four appearances at the CONCACAF W Championship, with their best result being the semi-final finish in 2018. In 2023, Panama made their debut in the FIFA Women's World Cup, finishing last in Group F.

History

2000s In 2002 Panama qualified for the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup for the first time after securing one of two spots in Central American Zone qualifying. They went 1–0–2 at the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup and did not qualify for the knockout round.

Panama once again qualified for the Women's Gold Cup in 2006 after winning their qualifying group. Panama lost their first-round match 2–1 to Jamaica and were eliminated.

2010s Panama did not participate in the 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying tournament as they did not enter Central American qualifying.

In 2013 Panama participated in the Central American Games for the first time. They went 1–0–1 and advanced to the semi-finals, where they lost to Costa Rica. Panama would finish in fourth place after losing the third place match to Guatemala.

Panama finished second in their group in 2014 Central American Qualifying and did not qualify for the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship as only the group winner advanced.

At the 2017 Central American Games, Panama improved on their result from four years ago by defeating El Salvador on penalties to finish in third place.

2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship

After failing to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games, Panama secured one of the two spots available in Central American Qualifying for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, this marked their first appearance in the CONCACAF Women's Championship since 2006, after defeating Nicaragua and El Salvador. Their qualification was aided by the suspension of perennial rivals, Guatemala, by FIFA. Panama was drawn into Group A, alongside the United States, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.

Panama opened the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship with a 3–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. They suffered a 5–0 loss to the United States in their second match. The score could have been much worse if not for the excellent performance from 17-year old goalkeeper Yenith Bailey, as she made several big saves against the US who had 18 shots on goal. Panama secured their spot in the semi-final by defeating Mexico 2–0 in their final group match. Bailey once again made some big saves, including saving a penalty in the first half. Panama was beaten by Canada 7–0 in the semi-final, but they would move on to the third place match where a win would secure them a spot in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. After drawing 2–2 with Jamaica and losing on penalties in the third-place match, Panama played against Argentina at the CONCACAF-CONMEBOL play-off to secure a spot for France 2019 but was eliminated from the qualification after losing 1–5 to the Argentines on aggregate.

2020 Olympic qualifiers After failing to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Panamanians turned their interest to the 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship qualification. In Central American qualifying, they were drawn into a group containing Guatemala and Honduras. Held at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, they beat Honduras 3–0 in their first match but due to the Guatemalans beating Honduras 4–0, anything other than a win in their last game would eliminate them. But Panama held their nerve and secured their qualification to 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship after winning their group with 3–1 win.

At the championship, where the two finalists make the 2020 Olympics, Panama struggled immensely and couldn't recreate their 2018 performance. They first started with a poor 6–1 loss to Costa Rica, followed by a 8–0 loss to United States which eliminated them from Olympic contention. Also their goalkeeper, Yenith Bailey, was subbed off injured. In their final game, which was a dead rubber against Haiti, they had a dismal performance and lost 6–0, although they were very lucky that they didn't concede more. Las Caneleras ended the tournament with 0 wins and a –19 goal difference. After the competition, their manager Raiza Gutiérrez was replaced by Mexican coach, Ignacio Quintana.

2023 Women's World Cup qualifying After comfortable victories against El Salvador, Belize, Aruba and Barbados, Panama qualified for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship.

They took part in the group stage, against its arch-rival and neighbor Costa Rica, alongside regional powerhouse Canada and Trinidad and Tobago. Panama suffered two defeats to Costa Rica and Canada losing its the chance to finish in top two. By winning 1–0 over Trinidad and Tobago in the third place match, Panama was able to qualify for the inter-confederation play-offs for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. In the inter-confederation play-offs, Panama defeated Papua New Guinea 2–0 and Paraguay 1–0 to qualify for the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup. Panama was the final team to qualify and will join Group F along with France, Jamaica, and Brazil.

2023 Women's World Cup

At the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Panama lost its opening match 4–0 to Brazil. In their second game, against Jamaica, they narrowly lost 1–0, which eliminated them from the tournament. In their final game, against France, they played an entertaining game, where Las Caneleras capped off their tournament with a 6–3 loss. Marta Cox scored her nation's first ever World Cup goal with a free kick from a long way out, which hit the top corner in the second minute. Their other goals were scored by Yomira Pinzón and Lineth Cedeño. After the match, French manager Herve Renard was severely disappointed with his team's performance.

Team image Nicknames The Panama women's national football team have been nicknamed as "Las Canaleras (The Canal Girls)."

Home stadium

Panama plays their home matches on the Estadio Rommel Fernández.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

2025

2026

Next Games – FEPAFUT.com Panama: Fixtures and Results – Soccerway.com

Coaching staff Current coaching staff

Technical Corps Position Name Ref Head coach Toña Is

Medical staff Position Name Ref. Doctor Luis Sevillano Physiotherapist Lisbeth Vallecilla

Administrative Position Name Ref. Delegate Pedro Núñez Press Delegate Adán De Gracia-Esmenjaud

Manager history

Lizandro Barbarán (2006) Ignacio Quintana (2020–2024) Toña Is (2024–)

Players

Current squad The following players were named to the squad for the 2026 CONCACAF W Championship qualification match against Curaçao in November 2025.

Caps and goals updated as of 2025-05-30 after the match against Bolivia.

Recent call-ups The following players were called-up in the last 12 months. This list may be incomplete.

Records

Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

Most capped players

#PlayerYear(s)Caps1 Raiza Gutiérrez 20??–20?? ??

Top goalscorers

#PlayerYear(s)GoalsCaps

Competitive record FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup recordYearResult 1991Did not enter 1995 1999 2003Did not qualify 2007 2011Did not enter 2015Did not qualify 2019 2023Group stage3003311 2027To be determined 2031To be determined 2035To be determinedTotal 1/10 3 0 0 3 3 11 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games Summer Olympics recordQualifying recordYearResultPositionPldWD*LGFGAPldWD*LGFGA 1996Did not enter1995 FIFA WWC 20001999 FIFA WWC 2004Did not qualify52122313 2008Did not enterDid not enter 2012 2016 2020Did not qualify5203721 20242022 CONCACAF W ChampionshipTotal – – – – – – – –104153034 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CONCACAF Women's Championship CONCACAF Women's Championship recordQualification recordYearResultPldW D*LGFGAPldW D*LGFGA 1991Did not enterDid not enter 1993 1994 1998 2000 2002Group stage31025164202812 2006First round100102220050 2010Did not enterDid not enter 2014Did not qualify3201173 2018Fourth place52127143201115 2022Group stage3102144400240 2026Qualified4400152TotalFourth place1241713362016048022 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CONCACAF W Gold Cup CONCACAF W Gold Cup recordQualification recordYearResultGPW D*LGFGADivisionGroupGPW D*LGFGA 2024Group Stage3003113AB421185 2029 To be determined To be determined Total – 3003113 – – 421185 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Pan American Games Pan American Games recordYearResultPldWD*LGFGA 1999Did not enter 2003 2007Group stage401328 2011Did not qualify 2015 2019Fifth place4013310 2023Did not qualifyTotalFifth place8026518 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games recordYearResultPldWD*LGFGA 2010Did not enter 2014 2018 2023Total – – – – – – – *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Central American Games Central American Games recordYearResultPldWD*LGFGA 2001Did not enter 2013Fourth place4103813 2017Bronze medal5122810 2025**Group stage200217TotalBronze medal112271730 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. **U23 side was played for the tournament

Honours Regional Central American Games Bronze Medalists (1): 2017

Panama women's national football team

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