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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[9] 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 beat 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.[10][11] After losing the third place match to Jamaica on penalties, 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.
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.
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.[12] Panama was the final team to qualify and will join Group F along with France, Jamaica, and Brazil.[13]
2023 Women's World Cup
At the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Panama lost its opening match 4–0 to Brazil.[14] In their second game, against Jamaica, they narrowly lost 1–0, which eliminated them from the tournament.[15][16] In their final game, against France, they played an entertaining game, where Las Caneleras capped off their tournament with a 6–3 loss.[17]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.[18]
Team image
Nicknames
The Panama women's national football team have been nicknamed as "Las Canaleras (The Canal Girls)."
^"The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
^Nowakowski, Wojciech (8 August 2023). "Morocco, Ireland, Portugal: All 8 Women's World Cup debutants and how far they made it". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^"PREVIEW: Women's Gold Cup to determine tickets to China 2003". 25 October 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2003. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"Women Gold Cup 2006". Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^ abc"PANAMA". Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"Selección femenina de fútbol inicia prácticas a Copa Centroamericana". April 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"General preview of the teams participating in the Concacaf Women's Championship 2018". 4 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"Draw Reveals Groups for the 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship". 4 September 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"USA vs. Panama, Concacaf Championship: Final Score 5–0 as Carli Lloyd's Hat Trick Leads the Way". 7 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"Canada thrashes Panama to book FIFA Women's World Cup berth". 14 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
^"Panama 2–0 Mexico: Panama one win from World Cup, Mexico out". 10 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
^"Panama become final team to qualify for Women's World Cup". Reuters. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
^sport, Guardian (23 February 2023). "Panama secure final 2023 Women's World Cup spot after defeating Paraguay". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
^"Brazil's Zaneratto Pays Tribute to Ronaldo at Women's World Cup, Hits Siuu and 'Sleep' Celebrations". Sports Brief. 26 July 2023.
^Ronald, Issy (29 July 2023). "Jamaica makes history by beating Panama for first Women's World Cup win". CNN.
^Dubber, Joel (29 July 2023). "Jamaica knock out Panama with 1-0 win" – via www.reuters.com.