Argentina’s last appearance at the finals was at China 2007

Panama seeking maiden qualification

First leg set for Thursday 8 November in Buenos Aires province

The stakes could not be higher for Argentina and Panama who, over the course of five days, will face off home and away for one of the six remaining berths at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.

Even contesting a World Cup play-off for these respective representatives of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF is already a significant achievement, although neither will be satisfied with just that: the South Americans would dearly love to grace another World Cup 12 years on from their last participation at China 2007, while the Panamanians are hoping to qualify for the first time in their history .

The paths they took to this intercontinental play-off were not dissimilar: Las Albicelestes finished third at the Copa America Femenina Chile 2018, where they ended the World Cup dreams of a strong Colombia side. Las Canaleras, for their part, secured fourth spot at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship USA 2018 , finishing ahead of several teams with more pedigree in the women’s game, like Mexico and Costa Rica.

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