February 23 – Panama became the sixth Concacaf nation to qualify for the Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand this summer with a 1-0 play-off win over Papua New Guinea in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Panama join World Champions USA, Olympic champions Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Haiti as the Concacaf contingent heading for the finals. Panama, like Haiti, qualified through the inter-continental play-offs staged in New Zealand, and are the last team though to the finals.
Having overcome Papua New Guinea to reach their play-off final, the challenge for Panama – who have built a team around their defence and standout goalkeeper Yenith Bailey – was always going to be whether they could create enough chances to turn into goals.
After coming off the bench in the semi-final to score against Papua New Guinea, Riley Tanner was started and almost immediately scored in the 10 minute firing over the cross bar.
Panama controlled the game but it wasn’t until the 75th minute that they took the lead. Marta Cox flighted in a free kick that found Lineth Cedeno, who had a free header in front of goal.
Panama have been drawn in Group F with France, Brazil and fellow Concacaf nation Jamaica.
FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, acknowledging the completion of the play-offs, said: “I am delighted to welcome Haiti, Portugal, and Panama to the final line up of teams who will play at the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. All three teams will bring colour and excitement to the Tournament which will capture the imagination of fans around the world as women’s football goes Beyond Greatness in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand this July and August.”
The finals kick off July 20 with Australia’s showpiece opening Group B match against Republic of Ireland. Following ticket demand, this match has already been moved to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia which has a larger capacity than the original venue. The additional tickets now available for this opening game go on sale on tomorrow.
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