Panama president Juan Carlos Varela declared a national holiday
in celebration at the central American country's first ever qualification for
the World Cup.
"It's
a historic day for the country. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be a national holiday
for public and private sector workers," Varela said on Twitter on
Wednesday.
Panama
came from behind to beat Costa Rica 2-1 on Tuesday and book a ticket to Russia
2018.
The
victory left them third in the CONCACAF area qualification behind Mexico and
Costa Rica, and sensationally helped knock the United States out of contention.
Thousands
of Panamanians celebrated long into the night in the capital Panama City as a
cacophony of car horns greeted the historic news.
"Today
the planets aligned, you must never lose faith," Varela had said on the
Estadio Rommel Fernandez pitch in the capital following the match.
Although
not Panama's national game, football is rapidly catching up with baseball and
boxing as the country's favourite sport.