Christiansen praises Godoy's record and the team's maturity after beating Guatemala
“First, I want to congratulate our
captain, who has played 148 matches. He's the Panamanian national team player
with the most caps. And I also want to highlight Aníbal, not only in football,
but also as a leader of that group, how he manages it, how he is an example of
admiration within that group,” the coach said in a press conference. “He's
always the one who pulls the cart, the one who carries the team on his
shoulders. And it's a historic day for him, so I congratulate him from here.”
Christiansen acknowledged the difficulty
of the match and praised his opponent: “The game was very complicated, as I
said yesterday. We faced a team that plays very well and puts very strong
pressure on all our lines. And in the end, what we suffered was because we
didn't get the second goal. We had several chances to—I don't want to say close
it out, but at least be a little more comfortable and not have to suffer until
the end.”
Although Panama thrashed Guadeloupe 5-2 in
its debut, this time Tomás Rodríguez's solitary goal was enough.
For the coach, the lack of effectiveness
was decisive: "Last game we scored five, this one we scored one, and we
could have scored five. That's football, right?"
Despite the missed opportunities,
Christiansen praised his players' attitude in maintaining control of the game.
“As much as we practice, and the truth is
that since we've been here in the United States, even before leaving, we've put
a lot of emphasis on finishing,” he said. “But what I'm left with is the
result, the way we read the game, and how we were able to manage the tempo
without rushing our game too much, without going all out to score the second
goal. And that was a good reading on the part of the players as well.”
Panama will close out the group stage against Jamaica next Tuesday.
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