Panama take on Saudi Arabia in an international friendly match on Thursday.

The game will take place at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with these two nations meeting each other for the first time in their history.

Match preview

After qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in their history in 2018 - when they were dumped out at the group stage without a point to their name in Russia - Panama missed out on a playoff spot for Qatar 2022 by four points.

Having finished 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Jamaica in CONCACAF qualifying, Thomas Christiansen's side have clearly improved to become one of the strongest five nations in North American football, but successive away defeats to Costa Rica, Mexico and USA earlier this year meant that they fell a little short of their overall aim in the end.

Having won four of their last six official matches without conceding, though, former Leeds United boss Christiansen will fancy his side's chances of pushing Saudi Arabia all of the way in UAE even after being defeated 2-1 by Qatar in an unofficial friendly game in Marbella, Spain, on Saturday.

There are only nine places between the two nations in FIFA's World Rankings, suggesting that those in attendance at the cricket ground on Thursday are in store for a more closely fought friendly than may usually be expected.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, qualified for their second successive World Cup in some style after finishing ahead of Japan and Australia in Group B of AFC qualifying.

The Green Falcons have only ever once made it beyond the group stage - at their first ever World Cup in USA in 1994 - but they did manage to win their first match at a World Cup for 24 years by beating Egypt 2-1 in their final match in Russia in 2018.

Having been drawn alongside Argentina, Mexico and Poland in Group C this time around, head coach Herve Renard clearly has it all to do even to help his team avoid three defeats, although the 54-year-old has previously worked his magic on the international stage by winning the African Cup of Nations with both Zambia and Ivory Coast.

Competing in neighbouring Qatar will surely do Saudi Arabia's chances of performing respectably on the grandest stage of them all no harm at all, with his players more than comfortable with the climate and surroundings they are set to compete in.

Having kept five clean sheets in six warm-up friendlies against Ecuador, USA, North Macedonia, Albania, Honduras and Iceland so far, Renard will be hoping for a morale-boosting win against Panama on Thursday, before facing a huge test against Croatia next week in their final warm-up friendly.

Team News

Panama's third-highest all-time goalscorer Gabriel Torres was left out of their squad by Christiansen, as the former Spain international looks to build for the future with the Canal Men.

Indeed, Ricardo Hinds will hope to earn his first international cap having been called up to the senior squad for the first time, although the 21-year-old midfielder is likely to have to be patient from the bench.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, could name the same starting XI which defeated Iceland 1-0 in an unofficial friendly on Sunday.

All 33 players named in Renard's squad ply their domestic football within their homeland, with Fahad Al-Muwallad arguably their star player given that he is their most-capped player with 74 appearances as well as their joint-highest goalscorer with 17.

Panama possible starting lineup:
Mosquera; Murillo, Cordoba, Escobar, Andersen, Andrade; Yanis, Carrasquilla, Martinez, Diaz; Guerrero

Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Al-Amri, Al-Burayk; Al-Faraj, Al-Malki, Kanno; Al-Muwallad, Al-Buraikan, Al-Dawsari

We say: Panama 0-1 Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's six warm-up friendlies within recent weeks have seen only four goals scored across all of them, so we are struggling to envisage a thriller being played out on Thursday.

Panama tend to keep things tight defensively, too, having kept four clean sheets in their last six competitive fixtures. As such, it feels likely to be a one-goal match, with the significance of the occasion likely to help Renard's side get themselves over the line.

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