Match Previews
World Cup 2018
Round Group G
Panama
Last updated: Thu 28 June 2018 15:08Hammered again in the second round, but scored their first ever World Cup goal against England. Now eager to earn first points too, but heavy rotation can be expected. Important midfielder A. Quintero sidelined. A. Cooper and M. Murilo suspended.
After their 0:3 defeat on their World Cup debut Panama were even poorer defensively when facing England and they deservedly lost 1:6, with the English netting five unanswered goals in the first half to decide everything from early on. However, there was memorable moment for Panama late in the game when substitute Baloy scored their first ever World Cup goal, celebrated by the fans as if they’ve won the game.
Panama has never before faced an African opposition, not even in a friendly.
Coach Gomez is expected to make many changes to his line-up after using the same XI in both games so far, with the gaffer promising to allow as many players as possible to gain World Cup experience first-hand.
Regulars Cooper and Murilo will definitely be absent as they will serve bans, but at least there are no injury concerns apart from the left wing star Quintero, who missed the tournament after hurting his knee just before it started.
The starting line-up was confirmed by the coach!!!
Scoring goals is proving very difficult for Panama lately with the squad netting just 2 goals in their 7 matches played so far in 2018 – 5 of these were friendlies before the tournament.
Tunisia
Last updated: Thu 28 June 2018 15:08Already eliminated after two defeats, but hoping to restore some pride in the final match and stop thirteen-game winless run at World Cups. Changes to the line-up seem certain. Y. Msakni, T. Khenissi and M. Hassen sidelined. F. Ben Mustapha, D. Bronn and S. Ben Youssef also ruled out after last game.
Tunisia crashed out of another World Cup, the Eagles are yet to progress past the group stage despite this being their fifth World Cup, after sloppy defending and bad luck with injuries saw them losing 2:5 against Belgium. Awful start, Tunisia were 0:2 down inside 16 minutes combined with two first-half injuries to crucial defenders pretty much prevented Tunisia from standing realistic chance of avoiding defeat in this match.
Angry, but proud, the players of coach Maaloul will still want to record a win in their final game as their only World Cup success so far came way back in 1978 and their fans are hungry for another victory.
After losing regulars Msakni and Khenissi before the tournament and also goalkeeper Hassen in the opening game, Tunisia suffered two more injuries against Belgium. The right-back Bronn is definitely sidelined, he hurt his ankle shortly after scoring his first international goal, while centre-back Ben Youssef is under assessment after knee problem forced him off the pitch too. On Tuesday it was confirmed that Ben Youssef will also miss the game.
Tunisia are likely to rotate their line-up for this one and the likes of Mathlouthi, Nagguez, Benalouane, Haddadi and Chaalali are just some of those expected to be given their first World Cup starts. Ben Amor and Khalifa are two other players hoping to be picked from the off.
There will also be just one goalie available, with the first-choice Hassen getting injured in the first game, while his replacement Ben Mustapha picked up a groin problem vs. Belgium and he is also set to miss the match vs. Panama.
Tunisia won their first ever World Cup match back in 1978 against Mexico, but they are yet to record second World Cup win – since that famous day nine defeats and four draws followed.
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4-1-4-1 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Penedo | |||
| A. Machado | |||
| F. Escobar | |||
| Ra. Torres | |||
| L. Ovalle | |||
| G. Gomez | |||
| R. Avila | |||
| É. Bárcenas | |||
| A. Godoy | |||
| J. L. Rodríguez | |||
| G. Torres |
4-3-2-1 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mathlouthi | |||
| H. Nagguez | |||
| Y. Benalouane | |||
| Y. Meriah | |||
| O. Haddadi | |||
| S. Khaoui | |||
| G. Chaalali | |||
| F. Sassi | |||
| A. Badri | |||
| N. Sliti | |||
| W. Khazri |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| J Calderon | |||
| Al. Rodríguez | |||
| F. Baloy | |||
| H. Cummings | |||
| E. Davis | |||
| V. Pimentel | |||
| A. Arroyo | |||
| I. Diaz | |||
| B. Perez | |||
| L. Tejada |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Maaloul | |||
| R. Bedoui | |||
| E. Skhiri | |||
| M. A. Ben Amor | |||
| A. Khalil | |||
| B. Srarfi | |||
| F. Ben Youssef | |||
| S. Khalifa |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Penedo | |||
| A. Machado | |||
| F. Escobar | |||
| Ra. Torres | |||
| L. Ovalle | |||
| G. Gomez | |||
| R. Avila | |||
| É. Bárcenas | |||
| A. Godoy | |||
| J. L. Rodríguez | |||
| G. Torres |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| J Calderon | |||
| Al. Rodríguez | |||
| F. Baloy | |||
| H. Cummings | |||
| E. Davis | |||
| V. Pimentel | |||
| A. Arroyo | |||
| I. Diaz | |||
| B. Perez | |||
| L. Tejada |
Tunisia
Last updated: Thu 28 June 2018 15:08Already eliminated after two defeats, but hoping to restore some pride in the final match and stop thirteen-game winless run at World Cups. Changes to the line-up seem certain. Y. Msakni, T. Khenissi and M. Hassen sidelined. F. Ben Mustapha, D. Bronn and S. Ben Youssef also ruled out after last game.
Tunisia crashed out of another World Cup, the Eagles are yet to progress past the group stage despite this being their fifth World Cup, after sloppy defending and bad luck with injuries saw them losing 2:5 against Belgium. Awful start, Tunisia were 0:2 down inside 16 minutes combined with two first-half injuries to crucial defenders pretty much prevented Tunisia from standing realistic chance of avoiding defeat in this match.
Angry, but proud, the players of coach Maaloul will still want to record a win in their final game as their only World Cup success so far came way back in 1978 and their fans are hungry for another victory.
After losing regulars Msakni and Khenissi before the tournament and also goalkeeper Hassen in the opening game, Tunisia suffered two more injuries against Belgium. The right-back Bronn is definitely sidelined, he hurt his ankle shortly after scoring his first international goal, while centre-back Ben Youssef is under assessment after knee problem forced him off the pitch too. On Tuesday it was confirmed that Ben Youssef will also miss the game.
Tunisia are likely to rotate their line-up for this one and the likes of Mathlouthi, Nagguez, Benalouane, Haddadi and Chaalali are just some of those expected to be given their first World Cup starts. Ben Amor and Khalifa are two other players hoping to be picked from the off.
There will also be just one goalie available, with the first-choice Hassen getting injured in the first game, while his replacement Ben Mustapha picked up a groin problem vs. Belgium and he is also set to miss the match vs. Panama.
Tunisia won their first ever World Cup match back in 1978 against Mexico, but they are yet to record second World Cup win – since that famous day nine defeats and four draws followed.
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| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mathlouthi | |||
| H. Nagguez | |||
| Y. Benalouane | |||
| Y. Meriah | |||
| O. Haddadi | |||
| S. Khaoui | |||
| G. Chaalali | |||
| F. Sassi | |||
| A. Badri | |||
| N. Sliti | |||
| W. Khazri |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Maaloul | |||
| R. Bedoui | |||
| E. Skhiri | |||
| M. A. Ben Amor | |||
| A. Khalil | |||
| B. Srarfi | |||
| F. Ben Youssef | |||
| S. Khalifa |