SARANSK, Russia - While England may be one of the most formidable national teams in world football, Panama has every right to feel it can go toe-to-toe with the 1966 World Cup champions.
The two teams will meet on Sunday at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia in the second match in Group G with Panama (0W-0D-1L, 0GF, 3GC) hoping to earn its first result against an England side (1-0-0, 2GF, 1GC) that opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Tunisia.
The contrast in histories between the two nations in football is stark: England is appearing in its 15th FIFA World Cup; Panama in its first.
However, when it comes to CONCACAF teams versus the Three Lions on the world's biggest stage, there has been ample success for the region.
All told, CONCACAF teams are 1W-2D-2L against England at the World Cup.
To take that a step further, in England's last two meetings with CONCACAF teams both at recent World Cups - versus the United States at South Africa 2010 and Costa Rica at Brazil 2014 - the two contests ended in draws (1-1 vs. U.S., 0-0 vs. Costa Rica).
Taking also into account that a veteran-heavy Panama team will be facing a young England squad, there is a sense within the Panama camp that something special could happen on Sunday.
"England is a national team with history, with good players, but they are also young and are playing their first World Cup, just like us," said FW Luis Tejada in a press conference on Thursday.
"You can see that matches aren't won with names but the work that's done on the field," concluded Tejada.
