Panama’s coaching staff for friendly against India
The Blue Tigers will play their first friendly against Panama in Bengaluru.
The Panama national football team are set to play against the Indian national football team for the first time in Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on 25th September 2026.
This will be India and Panama’s first meeting as well as their first matches in the Sept-Oct FIFA International Window.
Panama is a small country in the Central America region who have played in the FIFA World Cup recently in 2018 and 2026. In both of their appearances at the FIFA World Cup, Panama got eliminated in the group stages while being able to score only 2 goals in 2018 and none in the 2026 edition.
Panama are currently ranked 44th in the FIFA World Rankings which means that they are the lowest ranked nation that India will play against in this September-October FIFA International Window.
In this article, we will take a look into the profiles of the coaching staff of Panama.
Head coach – Thomas Christiansen
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Thomas Christiansen, born to a Spanish mother in Denmark, was raised in Copenhagen before going on to represent Spain at international level where he earned two caps to his name and even managed to score a goal. Christiansen holds a UEFA A level coaching license and has been a manager professionally for the past 12 years.
As a professional player, he played most of his career in Spain. His first non-youth team was Barcelona B, who sent him out on loan 3 seasons running. After that he found his footing in the first division with Real Oviedo and Villarreal.
After a few seasons in Spain, Thomas would switch to play in Greece and Norway before playing out his final years in Germany with Bochun and Hannover.
After retiring in 2007, the Spaniard worked on his coaching license and then eventually started as the Assistant Manager for Al-Jazira Club in the UAE 1st division.
He then became a manager in the Cypriot 1st division, where he was manager for 2 different teams (APOEL & AEK Larnaca). He then went onto become the manager for Leeds United in the Championship during the 2017-18 season.
After only 1 season, he would move on to manage Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian 1st division. Thomas then became the head coach of Panama in 2020.
Assistant coach – Javi Sánchez Jara
Javi is a former Spanish FC Barcelona right-back who is a product of La Masia. Javi played football professionally for 20 years, post which, he turned to coaching and has very minimal coaching experience. Javi played his entire career in the first division of Spain, representing clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Betis and Osasuna.
Javi and Thomas actually have known each other since 1992 when both of them were teammates at Barcelona B. After his retirement from professional football, Javi joined Cordoba CF in Spain as an assistant coach in the 2013-14 season.
A year later he would leave the team to become the assistant coach of RCD Mallorca in 2015. After only 1 season as assistant coach, Javi would leave and not be part of any team until his old friend Thomas would ask Javi to be the assistant manager for Panama in 2021.
Assistant coach – Daniel Blanco
Daniel is a 36-year-old former Venezuelan footballer, who is one of the newest additions to Thomas’ coaching staff.
As a player, Daniel has played most of his career in his home country and has also played the last phases of his career in Panama. He is a legend at the Venezuelan club Metropolitanos FC, having played with them for 4 years from 2012 to 2016. After leaving his country, Daniel found home in Panama where he played out the latter years of his career.
Post his retirement, he continued at his last club Potros del Este as a video analyst and later as an assistant coach, before becoming manager in the 2021-22 season. After 2 seasons at the club, the Venezuelan would start out in Thomas’ coaching staff as video analyst, before being promoted to assistant coach in 2024.
Also Read: Brazil’s coaching staff under Carlo Ancelotti for friendly against India
Goalkeeping coach – Donaldo González
Donaldo is football legend in Panama who played over 30 games for his country as a goalkeeper for over a decade. He played most of his club career in Panama, before moving to Honduras and then returning to Panama where he played out the rest of his career at Atlético Veragüense.
Donaldo started his coaching career as the goalkeeping coach of the Panama national team between 2007 to 2013. After taking a 2-year break from coaching, he would make his comeback to Panama 1st division club CA Independiente. After only 2 years, he would later be promoted to being full-time manager for the club for a season.
After his 1 season at Independiente, he would have a short 6-month stint at CD Universitario in Panama, before returning to his original job as goalkeeping coach of the Panama national team in 2019.
Fitness coach – José Belmonte
José is a 41-year-old Spanish physiotherapist who has worked with the Panama national football team under head coach Thomas Christiansen since 2024.
He has previously worked in only two teams, both being national teams. He started out as the physio for the El Salvador national football team, where he worked for 2 years, before being appointed as the Physiotherapist for the Saudi Arabian national football team under Roberto Mancini.
Video analyst – Alejandro Sosa
Alejandro is a 37-year-old video analyst, who has a UEFA Pro coaching license.
He is the newest recruit for Thomas’ coaching staff. He has previously worked only with the LaLiga club Real Zaragoza between 2016 to 2024. He has been a part of the Panama National Football Team since late 2024.
Who is the head coach of Panama?
The head coach of Panama is Thomas Christiansen.
When will India play against Panama?
India will play against Panama on September 25, 2026, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
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