Luis Mejía

Luis Mejía is an experienced goalkeeper in Thomas Christiansen's Panama squad for the 2026 World Cup, named in the goalkeeper group alongside Orlando Mosquera and César Samudio. The Club Nacional keeper, known as 'Manotas', is 35 at kick-off and brings 56 senior Panama caps into the tournament as the most experienced figure in that group. He plays his club football in Uruguay with Club Nacional, the side he returned to.

Panama face England, Croatia and Ghana in Group L, with a meeting with England at MetLife Stadium on 27 June. Christiansen's side qualified by winning their CONCACAF third-round group on 18 November 2025. Mejía is one of three goalkeepers named in the squad, the senior man among them.

Mejía is an experienced goalkeeper whose game is built on shot-stopping, the part of goalkeeping that has kept him in the Panama set-up into his mid-thirties. Reflexes, handling and command of his area are the core of his work between the posts.

Behind a Panama side set up in a 5-4-1, Mejía's experience and reading of the game make him a calm presence in that defensive structure.

Panama lean on Luis Mejía's experience in goal: a shot-stopper at 35 with 56 caps who has long been a fixture for his country and sits behind a back line set up in Christiansen's 5-4-1. Panama come in at Tier 4 and £10m, a lower-band team pick within the game's £200m card budget, where the Group L draw against England, Croatia and Ghana shapes the early fixtures.