World Cup 2018: Panama were 'frightened' of England admits coach Hernan Gomez

Gomez also said that his team’s priority in the second half was to avoid a 'bigger catastrophe' and so their eventual 6-1 defeat was a creditable recovery.

The Panama coach, Hernan Gomez, admitted his team were “frightened” after going into the half-time break 5-0 down against England.

Gomez said that his team’s priority in the second half was to avoid a “bigger catastrophe”, and so in the circumstances their eventual 6-1 defeat was a creditable recovery.

“[At half-time] I’m starting to feel scared,” said the Colombian. “We can’t equalise, we can’t even reduce this huge distance. We were feeling rather frightened. But Panama is a small child in football, and so teams don’t really decipher our style of play. We could have scored more ourselves, but didn’t finish. England came to our box seven times and they scored six. That was the difference.

“We tried to play, but there’s a huge difference between our two teams. After conceding five goals in the first half, we tried to avoid a bigger catastrophe. We managed to keep the ball in the second half a bit more, and kept playing in an orderly fashion. Had we not done that, it wouldn’t have been six goals, but a lot more.”

One of the smallest countries ever to qualify for the World Cup, with a population of just four million, Panama have battled steep odds simply to get to Russia. A player in the domestic Liga Panamena can expect to earn around £250 a week, and will still be paid by cheque.

Attendances are often in the dozens. For many Panamanians, the primary loyalty is not to the club but the national side, and Gomez expressed his hope that Panama’s World Cup adventure could help transform the country’s football scene.

“We have to make huge improvements in all aspects of the team,” Gomez said. “And also in terms of infrastructure, facilities, the league in Panama. There are so many things that teams have here in Europe, and we lack everything.

Gomez watched his side humbled in the first half (AFP/Getty Images)

"We’ve made progress, but we have to improve so much. We are virgins. We’ve been born too early before the due date, but we still have to celebrate what we’ve done.”

As for England, Gomez offered his congratulations. “I think England is a totally spectacular, a beautiful team,” he said. “I’ve had to play against two spectacular opponents.”

So who does he think is better - England or Belgium? “I don’t think I have the ability to tell you that,” he said. “As Napoleon said: dress me slowly, because I am in a hurry."