World Cup draws always provoke interesting reactions. For some, being lumped into a group of heavyweights can lead to moaning and groaning. Then you have the other end of the spectrum. That is where Panama reside.
Upon discovering that the mighty Brazil, along with fellow contenders Italy and IR Iran, were drawn into their FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup Philippines 2025™ pool, Las Canaleras were ecstatic – no-one more so than veteran Gloria Saenz.
The Chorrillo GFC player had a key role in Panama securing one of the two Concacaf berths at the historic tournament. With just a month left before the ball gets rolling at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, Saenz spoke with FIFA about Panama’s qualification joy and playing against the world’s best.
Gloria Saenz: It was total joy. I remember before we left the dressing room, we said that Costa Rica were a very good team because they had a league there. A Costa Rica-Panama game is a derby at any level, men’s or women’s, in everything. We were winning 1-0 and at half-time, our coach said that we had one foot in the World Cup and to not let them take that away, that we had our ticket in hand. When they drew level at 1-1, there was not too much frustration like in other matches. We scored the second goal from Laurie [Batista] and then later Nadia [Ducreux] scored the last goal from way out. It was just such tremendous joy and happiness, because there was only a minute left and we knew we were in the World Cup.
It’s going very well. The team is really together. We’ve only had a few weeks of training because many of us are playing 11-v-11 football, but I think that we are progressing and we’re focused on the World Cup.
I would say very united, since the majority of us are a bit older. We are a team that takes things seriously, but also has fun. We are a family.
We have a group chat. We were talking about the team we all wanted to face, and the majority of us said Brazil. We were all so excited and we all wanted Brazil. We know that they are the top team, and so when it turned out to be Brazil, we started writing to each other and saying that our hopes had paid off. We got Brazil. We know that Italy and Iran are also very strong teams. The entire group is strong, but I think we will face it in the best way possible.
First of all, we have to take each game seriously and in the best way. We need to gain experience and do our best to get ourselves into the next round.
Yes, I’m excited and calm at the same time, because I think that if I stay too excited, it might work against me. I might get so anxious that I play badly, or vice versa. I’m so eager to play against one of the best in the world, and I might do really well.
Out of all of them, the one I have seen the most videos on – because right now everything in my social media is futsal – is Camila. I admire her style of play, everything. But truthfully, I can’t name just one player because they all play well.
Kenia is an excellent player. I grew up playing with her, she’s like my footballing sibling. We came up together since we were little, we grew up in the same neighborhood. She is a great example of overcoming the odds since things were rough for her growing up. She was able to move forward. I think in the Costa Rica game, she never asked for a sub. I don’t know how she managed going the entire 40 minutes. She’s physically very strong and plays well. God willing, the World Cup goes very well for her.
Thanks to the World Cup qualifying tournament and then qualifying for the World Cup, there is now a league here and we had a season. El Bosque Villa 9 was the winner. The hope is that there are more leagues so that women’s futsal can prosper. That it prospers economically, but also that it receives the same support as women’s football.
📸 Photos courtesy of Concacaf
