It was April 4 in 1976 when Panama for the first time in its history of soccer, played a match in eliminatory of a World Cup. There were the qualifying matches for the 1978 Argentina World Cup.

In Panama City, Panama had to face Costa Rica in the first qualifying match of CONCACAF in Central America.
Panama played a 4-2-4 with wings Agustín Muquita Sánchez and Néstor Hernández. The center forward was Cascarita Tapia.
Costa Rica scored 1-0 and with this result the first half ended. In the second half Federico Ponce enters, and at minute 10 Tapia scores the goal of the tie with a "sombrero charro". Ponce marks the goal of the comeback and Muquita Sanchez scores the third goal.
It was an historic match for Panama that won 3-2 and yet it was not qualified for that World Cup, its first participation in a World Cup being Russia 2018.

Years later will play in Europe the best player in Panamanian history: Julio César Dely Valdés (Cagliari, PSG, Real Oviedo, Málaga).
Called "Panagol" by his fans in Uruguay, where he scored more than 100 goals with the National of Montevideo shirt, Julio is signed by Cagliari Calcio in 1993. There he forms a lethal pair with the Brazilian Luiz Oliveira.
He then played in Spain with Real Oviedo and Málaga, scoring a total of 77 goals.
With his national team Valdés scored 22 goals and was coach of the Panama National Team between 2010 and 2013.

After two seasons, he went to play in the French league with PSG, where he won a European Cup For the occasion, Retrofootball® launches the retro shirt of Panama national football team in 1976.Winners Cup in 1996.

Buy the Panama national team retro shirt 1986