Panama’s build-up to their World Cup encounter with England on Saturday was marred by a training ground altercation between two squad members.
The Central Americans have already been knocked out of the tournament following defeats in their opening two fixtures. They conclude their Group L campaign against Thomas Tuchel’s team at the MetLife Stadium, but their open training session witnessed a clash between Cecilio Waterman and Jose Luis Rodriguez.
Waterman was captured on camera shoving Rodriguez in the chest before being restrained by colleagues as he attempted to pursue the disagreement. The incident swiftly subsided and the public training session resumed.
Panama meet England for the second occasion, having been thrashed 6-0 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Harry Kane netted a hat-trick. They have progressed since then and are presently ranked 42nd globally, having endured narrow 1-0 losses to Ghana and Croatia.
Should England top the group, they will travel to Atlanta to meet a third-placed qualifier, while finishing second would send them to Toronto to face Portugal or Colombia.
Thomas Tuchel’s outfit lacked the cutting edge to overcome Ghana in midweek, meaning their position in the group remains uncertain. The German acknowledges he was receptive to the notion of overhauling his entire starting XI had they clinched top spot, but remains prepared to rotate his squad.
He said: “I was not even sure if to do the full rotation [if England had beaten Ghana]. Maybe we would have. But I am not shy to do some rotation now.
“Some players should be on the pitch but maybe it will be more moderate. It’s not always fair if you just rotate your players in and say, ‘Okay, let’s perform.’ Let’s see.
“I like, for example, the centre backs today. They were good together. I like Elliot Anderson, he had a step forward and a good performance, maybe a bit better than against Croatia.