Preview: Panama vs Bosnia-Herzegovina - prediction, team news, lineups

Panama and Bosnia-Herzegovina will clash at Energizer Park on Saturday in their final warm-up match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Los Canaleros have been drawn in Group L of the summer tournament, while the Dragons will compete in Group B.

Match preview

Panama enjoyed a superb World Cup qualifying campaign, winning all four of their CONCACAF second-round fixtures before finishing top of Group A in the third round with three wins and three draws.

Consequently, Panama secured their place in the World Cup for just the second time, and Los Canaleros have been drawn alongside Ghana, Croatia and England in Group L.

Following their qualification, Panama failed to win any of their following three matches, with draws against South Africa and Bolivia sandwiched around a defeat to Mexico.

However, they have subsequently won two of their last three games, with the exception being a 6-2 defeat to Brazil in their first warm-up friendly ahead of the World Cup.

Thomas Christiansen's side bounced back with a confident 4-2 win against Dominican Republic earlier this week and will now be hoping to make it two straight victories as they aim to carry momentum into their first World Cup fixture against Ghana on June 18 - when they will be looking to secure their first-ever win at a World Cup finals.

Panama will face a challenging clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina, who are also looking to maintain their momentum going into the 2026 World Cup.

Bosnia narrowly missed out on automatic qualification to the World Cup during the UEFA qualifiers, finishing second in Group H and just two points behind eventual winners Austria, meaning the Dragons had to compete in the playoffs.

A late Edin Dzeko equaliser sent their semi-final clash with Wales to extra-time and then penalties, which the Dragons won 4-2, meaning they would face Italy in the playoff final.

After falling behind early in the match, Bosnia controlled the game and eventually equalised in the 79th-minute, with the tie once again progressing to penalties.

Bosnia scored all four penalties while Italy missed twice, meaning the Dragons dramatically ensured they would compete at the World Cup finals for the first time since 2014.

Sergej Barbarez's side followed that success up with a 0-0 draw against North Macedonia late last month, meaning Bosnia have drawn all of their last four matches, though they are unbeaten in their last seven outings.

With Saturday's clash their final warm-up fixture before facing Canada, Switzerland and Qatar in Group B, Bosnia will be eager to secure a confidence-boosting victory.

Panama International Friendlies form:

D L D W L W

Panama form (all competitions):

D L D W L W

Bosnia-Herzegovina International Friendlies form:

W L L L W D

Bosnia-Herzegovina form (all competitions):

W W D D D D

Team News

Luis Mejia and Anibal Godoy are both doubts to feature for Panama due to ongoing injury concerns.

Christiansen may opt to name an unchanged starting team from the side that started the win against the Dominican Republic. However, the manager made 15 changes during that match, and the Panama boss is expected to heavily rotate his squad once again throughout this contest.

Meanwhile, Ivan Sunjic, Dzeko and Haris Tabakovic are all doubts to feature due to minor injury worries.

Barbarez also made numerous changes during Bosnia's last match, and the manager could rotate his squad from the start on Saturday.

Panama possible starting lineup:

Samudio; Anderson, Farina, Ramos, Miller, Gutierrez; Yanis, Griffith, Martinez, Rodriguez; Fajardo

Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting lineup:

Zlomislic; Dedic, Katic, Hadzikadunic, Mujakic; Alajbegovic, Gigovic, Tahirovic, Bajraktarevic; Bazdar, Demirovic

We say: Panama 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina

Both teams have demonstrated their qualities in recent matches, and with both eager to avoid defeat ahead of the World Cup, a hard-fought and cagey affair is expected.

For that reason, we anticipate Panama and Bosnia-Herzegovina's meeting to end all square.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.