South Africa 1-2 Panama: Defensive duo Cordoba and Ramos strike to boost momentum

Panama showed their quality ahead of the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 win over South Africa at DHL Cape Town Stadium.

Defenders Jose Cordoba and Jiovany Ramos scored the goals for Panama, while Mbekezeli Mbokazi briefly restored parity for South Africa as both nations will now turn their complete attention to the world stage.

After a 1-1 draw last week between the two sides, it was a nervy start in Cape Town. Ismael Diaz registered the only shot on target, heading straight at the goalkeeper from close range, while Aubrey Modiba and Tshepang Moremi saw their shots blocked.

Corboda fired Panama ahead from close range in the 58th minute, but that lead did not last long as Mbokazi got the better of Orlando Mosquera from outside the box as the South African found the top-left corner eight minutes later.

Nevertheless, Panama would be the victors on this occasion as Ramos headed in from Jose Luis Rodriguez’s cross with 14 minutes to go, and the visitors did not concede a single shot from there on.

¡GRAN VICTORIA EN CAPE TOWN!

La selección de #PanamáMayorconsiguió derrotar a Sudáfrica en su segundo partido amistoso internacional de esta fecha FIFA

Los dirigidos por el DT Thomas Christiansen se despiden de esta gira en territorio africano con un empate y… pic.twitter.com/fMtzEl5unH

— FEPAFUT (@fepafut) March 31, 2026

Elsewhere, Jordan came from behind to clinch a 2-2 draw with Nigeria. Mohammad Al Aldahod equalised in the 77th minute after Moses Simon and Emmanuel Fernandez gave Nigeria a half-time lead, following Mousa Tamari’s opener.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, suffered a further setback in their World Cup preparations as they lost 2-1 to Serbia. Strahinja Pavlovic and Aleksandr Mitrovic scored in the space of four second-half minutes to secure victory for the European side.

Data Debrief: Ramos leads from the back

Panama will hope to continue their clinical nature at the World Cup, with Thomas Christiansen’s side producing 0.92 expected goals from eight shots to South Africa’s 0.47 from six attempts.

And it was a key performance from Ramos, who, along with scoring the winner, recorded the second-most touches for his side (55), second-most passes (41), won possession back second-most often (five) and completed the joint-most dribbles (two).