Panama manager defends team's World Cup debut

Panama finished the tournament in Russia having lost all of their games.

A 3-0 defeat to Belgium, 6-1 to England and 2-1 to Tunisia saw the Central American team crash out of the tournament.

Egypt were the only other team to lose all of their matches, but Panama's minus 9 goal difference was one of the worst that the tournament has ever seen.

However, Gomez became angry when asked why critics were calling his team the worst in the competition.

"Maybe we were last, but are we really the worst team?'" Gomez said. "I think you should compare everything, the backdrops. We are the newest team and we ran into the most difficult schedule."

Panama is not a country known for its football, and has more success with baseball and boxing on the world stage.

Gomez described how Panama doesn't have the infrastructure to compete against top teams, as they lack strong national leagues and facilities to do so.

"Please don't call us the worst team," he said. "We are not the worst team. We are a team that is learning and growing. I think you need to respect our team much more. You cannot call us the worst team. That is a lack of respect."

"Maybe if we were look at the history and the backdrop of other countries, we can't really be called the worst, worst team," Gomez said. "I think you need to compare everything, not only compare the scores.

"You need to compare the backdrop, the history. Bear that all in mind before you call us the worst team."