Panama head coach Thomas Christiansen says his side is well aware of the threat posed by South Africa’s locally based players, particularly those from Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
Panama are set to take on Bafana Bafana in an international friendly on Friday at Moses Mabhida Stadium, with kickoff at 19:00.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday at DHL Stadium as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup.
Speaking at Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Christiansen said his team has studied South Africa closely and analysed several of their previous matches.
He highlighted the influence of Sundowns and Pirates players in the squad, noting their quality and potential impact.
“Well, I have analysed all the other games that we have had before, and we know that it will be a difficult game,” said Christiansen.
“They have very good players, some abroad, and many local players from Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi [Sundowns].
“So, I think they have around 13 players for this call-up. So we have analysed them, how they play, and that was also one of our main goals, to see how they were playing for the preparation of the World Cup.”
