Panama and Bosnia-Herzegovina go meet for Energizer Park on Saturday for their final warm-up match before 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Panama wey dey group L with Ghana, Croatia, and England, don finish their qualifiers well well. Dem win all four matches for CONCACAF second round, then finish top for group A for third round with three wins and three draws. Dis one na only second time dem go World Cup.
After dem qualify, Panama no win any match for three games: draw with South Africa and Bolivia, plus defeat to Mexico. But later dem win two of last three games, except for 6-2 defeat to Brazil for first warm-up friendly. Thomas Christiansen side bounce back with 4-2 win against Dominican Republic earlier this week. Dem hope to make am two straight wins to carry momentum into first World Cup match against Ghana on June 18, where dem go try secure their first-ever win for World Cup finals.
Bosnia-Herzegovina wey dey group B with Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar, also want maintain momentum. Dem narrowly miss automatic qualification for UEFA qualifiers, finish second for group H, two points behind Austria. So dem go playoff. For playoff semi-final against Wales, late Edin Dzeko equaliser send match to extra-time and penalties, wey Bosnia win 4-2. Then for playoff final against Italy, after dem fall behind early, Bosnia control game and equalise for 79th minute. Match go penalties again, and Bosnia score all four penalties while Italy miss two, so dem qualify for World Cup first time since 2014.
Sergej Barbarez side follow up with 0-0 draw against North Macedonia late last month. Bosnia don draw all of last four matches, but dem no lose for last seven outings. Saturday match na their final warm-up before facing Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar for Group B. Dem want win to boost confidence.
For Panama, Luis Mejia and Anibal Godoy dey doubt due to injury. Christiansen fit name unchanged starting team from win against Dominican Republic, but he make 15 changes for that match, so he go rotate squad again.
For Bosnia, Ivan Sunjic, Dzeko, and Haris Tabakovic dey doubt due to minor injury. Barbarez also make numerous changes for last match, so he fit rotate squad from start on Saturday.
Both teams show their qualities for recent matches, and both want avoid defeat before World Cup. So we expect hard-fought and cagey affair, and we anticipate Panama and Bosnia meeting to end all square.
