Panama lost 0-2 to England in their final FIFA World Cup group stage match. Forward José Rodríguez was interviewed in the FIFA mixed zone after the match.
Your FIFA World Cup journey ends here, but I think the team as a whole left a good impression. Panama certainly showed competitiveness. Compared to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, this performance was completely different. What did you gain from this second FIFA World Cup experience? What message do you want to convey about the future development of Panamanian football?
Of course, I think everyone saw Panama's performance in this FIFA World Cup. We made great progress in a very short time. It's clear that from 2018 to now, we are two completely different teams. We have always tried to stick to our philosophy, trying to maintain our style no matter what opponent we face. Of course, against teams like England, they will definitely have more possession. But as long as we have the opportunity, we will try to play our own way.
What I value most is the way the team demonstrated competitiveness. The result was certainly not what we wanted. Everyone hoped to get at least one point and also hoped to score goals, but ultimately we fell short. However, I am proud of my teammates. I think until the end, we stuck to our style of play and kept fighting.
It's a shame that the result didn't go our way this time. But I will remember the team's performance and the progress we made. If there is another chance to participate in the FIFA World Cup in the future, I believe everyone will see an even more different Panamanian team.
You are the only team in this tournament that did not score a goal. Will this leave you with some regrets? Also, what do you want to say to all Panamanian fans?
As you said, we are indeed leaving with regrets. Everyone is disappointed. As a forward, of course I really wanted to score for the team. This game was probably the one where we tried hardest to create shooting opportunities, and we were more proactive in attempting shots. In the previous games, although we had more possession, to be honest, our attacking threat was not sufficient, and we didn't create enough chances.
As for the Panamanian fans, I want to thank them. It's really wonderful to see them come to support us, including those who traveled to Toronto, and to see them enjoy the FIFA World Cup atmosphere. We originally hoped to at least bring them one point, or even make history, but we didn't manage it this time. I thank them again for coming to support us, and I hope they are proud of this Panamanian team. Although the result was not satisfactory, we fought until the end.
Something that might not be discussed much is the team's psychological resilience. In these three games, you faced strong teams like Ghana, Croatia, and England, but the team always remained composed and competed with your opponents. How did the team really build this confidence? On such a stage and with so much attention, despite the lack of goals, the overall performance was indeed competitive.
This is actually quite straightforward. I think a lot of it has to do with the leagues many of my teammates play in. Everyone plays in high-level leagues every weekend, and often plays in front of full stadiums, which helps us tremendously. The coach has also always asked us to remain calm in such an environment. We know this is the biggest stage in the world, a stage every player dreams of playing on. But at the same time, we are also enjoying the experience.
This is a very special opportunity where everyone can showcase themselves. We certainly wanted to make history, so in every game, no matter what the situation, we took the field with motivation and strove for a good result.
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