A cross pitch ball is aimed for Avila... but it flies out for a throw in. He was in plenty of space and could have easily dribbled into the box had the pass found him.
90'
If so, they'll only have two minutes in which to do it.
89'
It only took about 85 minutes, but both sides are finally coming out of their shells now. Can anyone break the deadlock?
88'
S. Lavery enters the game and replaces J. Magennis.
Magennis comes off for Shayne Lavery who sneaks into the box with his first touch, but it's put behind for a corner.
87'
Camargo finally tries a shot from outside the box, but it's easily blocked by the defence.
86'
Panama playing the ball around Northern Ireland's penalty area, but just can't seem to find a way in!
84'
Panama try the one-two again, but this time the return pass is heavy and cleared by McAuley.
82'
J. Thompson enters the game and replaces C. Evans.
Jordan Thompson comes on for Corry Evans.
81'
From that corner, Torres rises high, HEADS THE BALL..... but he just can't get his effort on target.
Minute
Description
80'
Avila plays a cheeky ball to Machado in the box. The latter tries to cut inside but it's blocked behind for a corner.
79'
Machado tried to track down an incisive ball down the right flank, but there was too much power on the pass and it runs out of play for a Northern Ireland goalkick.
77'
A bit of head tennis near Panama's box before a long ball is played forward to Avila by Panama. It's knowcked out of play for a throw in to the home side.
76'
R. Torres enters the game and replaces F. Baloy.
Roman Torres enter the fray at the expense of captain Felipe Baloy.
74'
Macnair makes a surging run down the right channel before being fouled by Escobar. The free kick will be taken by the sideline in a dangerous area.
72'
P. Smyth enters the game and replaces S. Ferguson.
Shane Ferguson makes way for Paul Smyth
Substitution Liam Boyce Ryan McLaughlin
71'
R. McLaughlin enters the game and replaces L. Boyce.
69'
A beautiful one-two between Perez and Ismail Diaz opens up the opposing defence... the latter SHOOTS but it's saved by Peacock-Farell.
67'
He's already back up on his feet and should be able to continue.
66'
Corry Evans is hacked down, but the referee played advantage which came to nothing. Play pauses to deal with the injury.
64'
Now the hosts are pressing further up the pitch, causing issues for the Northern Ireland defence who can't pass their way out of the back.
62'
All of the Panamanian players now sat in their own half. Will Norhtern Ireland be able to find a way through?
60'
L. Hodson enters the game and replaces S. Dallas.
I. Díaz enters the game and replaces J. Rodríguez.
Rodriguez caused many issues down the sidelines tonight, but now he heads to one as he comes off for Roberto Nurse.
59'
Perez leaves a ball for Camargo, but his first touch is too heavy and the visitors clear.
The pacey Stuart Dallas is removed in favour of Lee Hodson.
57'
Calderon is called upon at the other end as Northern Ireland threatened, but he rose to the challenge with a stunning diving save!
54'
Blas Perez makes a strong run through the middle of the visitor's defence... but his shot is saved by recent entrant Peacock-Farell.
52'
Jonny Evans is on the recieving end of a hearty challenge in the middle of the pitch, again. The referee continues to keep his cards in his pocket tonight though.
50'
With all of those substitutions now out of the way, let's get back to the football!
46'
B. Pérez enters the game and replaces L. Tejada.
V. Pimentel enters the game and replaces G. Gómez.
M. Camargo enters the game and replaces A. Cooper.
R. Ávila enters the game and replaces A. Godoy.
B. Peacock-Farrell enters the game and replaces T. Carson.
Cooper, who had made some ingress in the middle of the pitch, makes way for winger Miguel Camargo.
It's a swap in net for the visitors as Bailey Peacock-Farell comes on for Trevor Carson.
Gabriel Gomez comes off for midfielder Valentin Pimentel.
Like for like as striker Blas Perez comes on for Tejada.
Godoy comes off for Ricardo Avila.
45' +1
There's a flurry in Northern Ireland's penalty area, but they manage to scramble the ball clear, and the referee blows his whistle for half time.
45'
There will be just one minute of added time here in the first half.
43'
McNair makes a fantastic sliding tackle near the centre circle. He gets up, passes it out to Dallas, who crosses it back in to McNair... but the latter is called for a foul in the box. That looked one of the better chances for O'neill's men tonight.
41'
Now it's Barcena in space on the right! His cross is deep but finds Rodriguez in the box. HE SHOOTS... but Carson is able to save the effort. Panama having a lot of joy on the wings tonight.
40'
Rodriguez makes another run at pace down the left, he crosses in, but it's blocked behind by Catchcart. Corner to Panama.
38'
The visitors try a long ball forward to Boyce, but the ball carries and lands safely in the arms of Calderon.
36'
It looked as though the hosts were going to break quickly, but Tejada is deemed to have handled the ball. Free kick to Northern Ireland.
33'
After the free kick Stuart Dallas finds loads of space on the right flank! He crosses the ball in, but it's cleared away by Panama.
31'
Godoy takes a bit of a cheap shot into the back of Jonny Evans after the ball had gone, and the latter remains on the floor with the medical staff coming onto the pitch.
28'
Northern Ireland mildly claim that there should have been a penalty called on Tejada, but the referee takes no further action.
26'
Barcenas and Rodriguez are both causing all sorts of problems for the right side of the Northern Ireland defence. The latter whips in a cross but it's headed clear.
25'
Godoy plays a ball over the top to Barcenas, but he is pulled wide by the pass and the defence has time to recover and the chance goes wanting.
23'
Machado chops down McNair in the centre circle and is a little lucky that the ref has not gone to his pocket.
21'
Northern Ireland slow play a bit and pass the ball around the defence and look for a route up the pitch.
18'
The free kick comes to nothing, but the hosts keep the ball, move it out right to Escobar, who crosses in to Barcenas. His header HITS THE CROSSBAR!!! Very close from the winger there.
17'
Cathcart fouls Rodriguez on the left wing, which will give Panama a free kick form a dangerous area.
13'
The home side get into the the final third again, this time through Armando Cooper, but his run is blocked off and Northern Ireland clear.
11'
Panama are the first team to make such progress. They surged down the right flank before crossing in a ball that was headed behind by Gareth McAuley. Corner to the hosts!
8'
Both sides trading possession in the middle of the pitch, with neither making significant progress into the other's territory thus far.
5'
Panama lob the ball forward to Tejada, but Jonny Evans heads it out for a throw in.
3'
The referee calls an early stoppage to play as two of Panama's players are down on the ground.
2'
At first glance, it looks like a 5-3-2 from Northern Ireland tonight.
1'
After much fanfare and fireworks, the whistle blows and we're underway at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez!
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the international friendly between Panama and Northern Ireland!
Let's start off by looking at how these sides will be lining up tonight!
Panama (4-1-4-1): Jose Calderon; Adolfo Machado, Fidel Escobar, Felipe Baloy (C), Luis Ovalle; Gabriel Gomez; Jose Rodriguez, Armando Cooper, Anibal Godoy, Edgar Barcenas; Luis Tejada.
Sorry for the delay and lack of specifics in the Northern Ireland team! They didn't feel the need to post their line-up for tonight.
Both teams are lined up for the national anthems. Not long until kick off now!
The match continued to get better througout the half, but you'd be forgiven for wondering where the goals are going to come from.
Panama will be hoping to convert their dominance in wide areas into goals, but they will need to improve their crossing in the second half if they want that advantage on the wings to come to anything.
Northern Ireland will need to link play between the midfield and forwards if they want to see the net bulge tonight.
The lack of scoring could be down to the fact that neither side started their leading goalscorers from qualification (Torres and Magennis).
This one should be a fascinating as it is the first ever matchup between these two nations. Panama, of course, are headed to the World Cup while Northern Ireland will be staying home after a disappointing and controversial loss to Switzerland in their European playoff.
That was hardly the most inspiring watch, but Panama likely benefitted the most from the experience having had the chance to measure up a European side, two of which the South American's will face in their World Cup group (England, Belgium).
The hosts were sloppy for stretches of the match but their strength in midfield and pace on the wings should certainly help them in Russia. Finishing was certainly not on display tonight but, as mentioned before, they were without Gabriel Torres who was their highest scorer in qualifiers.
As for Northern Ireland, they had a very defensive set up and kept their opponents from scoring today, so mission accomplished to an extent. The defence has not been the issue for O'Neill's side though and they will need to come out to attack more in future matches if they wish to make the finals of big competitions in future.
That does it for our live coverage of Panama v Norhtern Ireland! We hope you enjoyed following along and will join us again soon!
Commentary
More…