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Winning is important; having fun is paramount. It’s a seldom outlook for a coach, but one that helped Alex Del Rosario guide Panama to their first Concacaf crown in April.

The ‘reward’ for that was being sent into the group of death at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™. Yet ‘El Brujo’, who was assistant coach when Panama played at the global finals for the first time in 2012, didn’t groan.

“I liken being at a World Cup to being at a graduation party,” he said. “You’ve got to have fun first and foremost. Enjoy doing what you love, which is playing futsal.

“In 2012, everything was new to us, everything seemed so overwhelming and we experienced it in a different way. As time goes on, those moments become mere experiences and you learn from them.

“Now we have a lot of new players in the side, but I always remind them to give it their all out there on the court to get a good results, and also to enjoy themselves. Sometimes we make mistakes because of the pressure and the fear of losing, but we need to snap out of that. Futsal is happiness.”

Panamanian futsal has never been in a better place, having made history by ruling the region in April.

“It was the first time we’d had a coach from Panama at the helm,” explained Del Rosario. “The first challenge was to qualify for the World Cup. We did that and we set ourselves the target of reaching the final. We achieved that as well.

“We put the responsibility on the player’s shoulders. We desperately wanted to be champions. We had just lost to Cuba in the group stage, but this time we managed to beat them and made history for Panamanian futsal. It was a dream come true.”

If Panama overcame the odds to conquer Concacaf, they will have to eclipse greater ones to escape alive from an Uzbekistan 2024 group that comprises all-conquering Portugal, a Morocco team that recently went 50 games unbeaten and Tajikistan, who will enjoy considerable support across the border.

“We’re in a group of death with the world champions, the African champions and ourselves,” said Del Rosario. “We are realistic about our chances against world champions Portugal, we know it won’t be easy, but we’re confident of getting a good result.

“We’ll be going for all three points. If we can take points off them, it will give us a huge boost going into the next few games. But if we lose, we must make sure it’s only by a small margin.

“Then we come up against Morocco, who for me are the most improved team in the world of futsal. They work incredibly hard, they are well-drilled tactically and pose a great attacking threat. That said, we’re more than capable of competing with them, even though they are very strong contenders to win the whole thing.”

Finally, he does not think Tajikistan will cause his side too many problems and has set himself the target of “making it out of the group stage with four points.”

Panama and Morocco have history. The Atlas Lions were three goals up in their Thailand 2012 curtain-raiser, only for La Marea Roja to emerge 8-3 victors.

“We were losing 3-0 but we managed to pull one back before half-time courtesy of Carlos Perez,” recalled Del Rosario. “We made a few mistakes as debutants, but we started to put them right.

“We moved the ball around better after the break and used our pace, which has always been our biggest strength. We scored a lot of goals on the counter-attack. It was very exciting for everyone involved.”

Player power
Del Rosario’s four-point target may sound ambitious, but he does boast excellent performers at his disposal. Jaime Penaloza is one, a goalkeeper capable of exasperating elite opponents.

“Penaloza’s a young lad who’s come on leaps and bounds thanks to his tireless work ethic and commitment,” said Del Rosario. “He’s established himself as Panama’s first-choice goalkeeper and we expect him to play a huge role for us at this World Cup.”

Alfonso Maquensi and Abdiel Ortiz, who both play for local side Sporting San Miguelito, are two of the other key players.

“We know that Maquensi will play a pivotal role for us,” remarked Del Rosario. “He’s a great organiser, he takes the game by the scruff of the neck, and conjures things up out of nothing using his strength and turns of pace.”

“Ortiz is skilful and quick. We always try to tell him that his pace is his biggest strength and that he needs to use it whenever possible.”