Thomas Christiansen reflected on Panama's World Cup debut in an interview with Globo following their 0-1 loss to Ghana in Group B. A stoppage-time goal in the 90+5th minute sealed Ghana's victory, leaving Panama seeking to bounce back against Croatia and England in their remaining group matches.
"We must learn from our mistakes," Christiansen said. "In the first half we played very well, controlled the game and moved it into the opponent's half where we wanted to be. In the second half we should have continued in that manner, but we were influenced by Ghana's game, playing long balls that were meaningless."
The manager highlighted critical lapses at World Cup level. "We had chances to stop their attack, but they scored and disappointed us. We made mistakes you cannot make at a World Cup – you get punished for them," Christiansen explained.
Panama face Croatia on June 24 in their second Group B fixture, with England to follow on June 28. Christiansen will need to tighten his side's second-half control and avoid the long-ball dependency that undermined their opening performance.