Panama have promised England the same physical approach they applied on Belgium when the two team’s meet in their World Cup group match.
The Central Americans were beaten 3-0 by Belgium on Monday in their first-ever World Cup match, meaning they need to avoid defeat against England if they want to realistically keep their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive.
Following his side’s win, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez was unhappy with Panama’s physical style, and expressed concern that the approach could lead to injuries.
However, Panama captain Roman Torres says his side have no intention of altering their approach: “Football is like that – you always have to impose yourself, you have to mark out your territory.
I think we competed well against Belgium, and I think when there were tackles, they got stuck in just as much as we did.
“England are a bit more direct than Belgium. They try to make use of the pace they have. We’ll need to be compact and limit their space.”