They came, they competed, they never scored. Panama’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign ended on Sunday with a 2-0 defeat to England at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and with it, the unwanted distinction of becoming the only team in this entire tournament to exit without scoring a single goal.Three games. Three defeats. Zero goals. It is a record nobody wants.Panama’s troubles started before they even got to England. Thomas Christiansen’s team lost 1-0 to Ghana in their opener and 1-0 to Croatia in their second group match, leaving them with two defeats, no goals scored and no path to the Round of 32 before their final game against England.Sunday’s loss only added to the misery. With Harry Kane heading home his record-breaking 11th World Cup goal and Jude Bellingham setting the tone before that, Panama’s brave defensive effort ultimately crumbled under England’s relentless pressure.Against Ghana and Croatia, Panama was competitive, organised and difficult to break down. The problem was finishing. They created chances. They had the ball in dangerous areas. But the goal simply would not come and at this level, that is the difference between advancing and going home.What makes Panama’s story even more remarkable is buried deep in the statistics. Panama have become only the third team in World Cup history to finish with zero points while conceding just four goals across all three group games — and the first of those three teams to do so without scoring a single goal in return. They were defensively stubborn, frustratingly resolute, and yet ultimately toothless at the other end.The loss leaves Panama still searching for their first ever World Cup victory. The country made their World Cup debut in 2018 and returned in 2026 with a more experienced generation, but the breakthrough win remains out of reach.Sitting at the bottom of Group L with zero points, Panama ran out of mathematical lifelines well before the final whistle on Sunday.Panama go home with their heads held as high as the scoreline will allow. But in the record books of the 2026 World Cup, their name sits in a category entirely of its own, the only team that never scored. Not once.
