As part of our Language of Soccer World Cup series, The Athletic is speaking to supporters of all 48 nations competing at the 2026 edition to capture their unique football culture, distilled into a single phrase. You can read the articles in one place here.Pasion Inquebrantable – Unwavering passionPanama is a small country with a proportionately large sporting footprint.Roberto Duran, the Central American nation’s most famous son, is one of the greatest boxers in history. Duran held world championships in four weight classes and was named the Fighter of the Decade for the 1970s by American sports publication The Sporting News. He was the first sportsperson to fly the Panama flag before an international audience, paving the way for generations of athletes to follow.Around the same time as Duran was duelling with Sugar Ray Leonard in the 1980s, Rolando Blackman, born and raised in Panama City, was becoming an NBA All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks. They have had success in track and field, too, with long-jumper Irving Saladino becoming the first Panamanian to win an Olympic gold medal in 2008.Panama is now best known for producing Major League Baseball stars, with legendary New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera standing head and shoulders above the long list of Panamanians who have graced an American ballpark.But despite a strong sporting heritage, Panama struggled to translate their success to the football pitch. They have been a member of FIFA since 1938 and are a founding member of Concacaf, the football confederation presiding over Central and North America, but Panama were on the outside looking in for football’s greatest show.“Before 2018, everybody would have their World Cup team,” says Mike Ho, who, like everyone in this piece, is a lifelong fan of the Panama national team. “Most people were Brazil or Argentina — it was always Brazil for me.”Then, against the odds, Panama finished above the United States and Honduras in World Cup qualifying to book their spot in Russia eight years ago. No longer did they need to decide between Neymar and Lionel Messi — for the first time, they had their own World Cup heroes to back with ‘pasion inquebrantable’, their unwavering passion.“When we qualified for the World Cup in 2018, the whole city went to the Calle Cincuenta, which is a famous long street here in Panama City, and it was all packed,” says Mike. “Everyone was there celebrating, wearing red, waving the flags.