Halftime substitute Lineth Cedeno was the toast of Panama on 23 February, her header fifteen minutes from time enough to secure a 1-0 FIFA Women's World Cup Play-offs win over Paraguay at Waikato Stadium and the very last place at the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in five months' time. There was very little between the teams throughout a largely cagey, foul-laden encounter, with the tension arising from what was at stake clearly evident in the subdued play of both teams, who fashioned very few genuine goalscoring opportunities between them. The first chance fell Panama's way in the tenth minute. Wendy Natis thumped the ball downfield for Riley Tanner to pursue, and her pressure forced both Maria Martinez and Veronica Riveros into errors which allowed the striker to latch onto the bouncing ball and control it in the penalty area before lashing a ten-yard volley over the bar, with the out-of-position Alicia Bobadilla inviting a cushioned volley into the far corner of the net instead. Paraguay responded through fleet-footed flank player Lice Chamorro, whose driving run down the left on the quarter-hour culminating in a cross which struck the hand of Panamanian defender Yomira Pinzon. Any penalty claims were dismissed by referee Kateryna Monzul, as the player's hand was by her side, thus in a perfectly natural position when the incident occurred. Seven minutes later, the South Americans should have opened the scoring. Dulce Quintana split the defence with a peach of a pass from halfway, unleashing the searing pace of Ramona Martinez in the process. Paraguay's "pocket rocket" - at a smidgen under five feet tall, the shortest player on the pitch - scorched the turf as she just beat the ball to the by-line and fired in a first-time cross which found Chamorro arriving on cue six yards out from goal. With Panama's goalkeeper, Yenith Bailey, already beaten by the delivery, the goal was at Chamorro's mercy, but she headed over the bar rather than under it - a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock in a game which, as its tense nature continued, badly needed a goal to unleash the potential of many players on the park. It was the South Americans who looked to more likely to score before the interval, however. Bailey treated a long-range strike from eye-catching fullback Camila Arrieta with contempt on the half-hour, then looked on as Natis blocked a Quintana drive four minutes later. Two minutes more had elapsed when Limpia Fretes worked a one-two with Quintana from a corner and whipped in a cross which was headed out by Pinzon to Rebeca Fernandez. She headed the ball back into the danger zone, where Chamorra ignored the raised boot of ice-cool Panamanian defender Rebeca Espinosa to direct a header past Bailey's right-hand post. Right on the stroke of half-time, Paraguay had the chance to take the lead via talismanic striker Jessica Martinez, whose contribution to proceedings had been particularly inhibited by a succession of niggly fouls. She came close to extracting the ultimate form of revenge on this occasion, however, only to see her twenty-five yard free-kick brilliantly saved on the line by Bailey, who ended up in the net, a situation she much preferred given the ball was the alternative. The cagey nature of proceedings continued into the second spell - it wasn't until the hour mark that either goal came under threat, with Riveros' free-kick into the danger zone careering across the bows of the incoming figure of Chamorro.

Panama responded via Marta Cox, who scythed inside two opponents off the left flank before picking out Tanner, whose shot on the turn was blocked by Tania Riso. Soon afterwards, Cox was the beneficiary of Carina Baltrip-Reyes' persistence on the right, but Panama's playmaker fired her fifteen-yard effort over the bar. After Bailey had dealt with a couple of long-range attempts by Arrieta, the 'keeper launched the ball downfield in the 71st minute. Tanner flicked it on to Cox, who brought the overlapping figure of Hilary Jaen into play. Her cross flew just beyond the incoming figure of Tanner, who threatened again two minutes later, this time via a looping backward header which landed on the roof of Bobadilla's net after Espinosa had cruised out of defence and picked out her front-running team-mate with a lofted ball forward. It was another lofted ball forward fifteen minutes from time which unlocked the door for Panama. The concession of yet another niggly foul, this time out by the touchline near the dugouts, prompted Cox to deliver another set-piece into the danger zone - earlier attempts from a more central position had proven fruitless against the Riveros-marshalled Paraguayan rearguard. On this occasion, however, the angled delivery proved critical, as it invited angled runs by Cox's team-mates, one of whom, Cedeno, wasn't picked up by anyone in a striped shirt. Paraguay paid a heavy price for this defensive lapse, as Cedeno's thumping eight-yard header left Bobadilla rooted to the spot as the ball crashed into the far corner of the net to break the deadlock. Cue scenes you simply don't see in New Zealand! Cedeno raced away, peeled off her shirt and threw it to the heavens before she was engulfed by her team-mates, those on the park and those on the bench. After things had calmed down, referee Monzul issued the scorer with the mandatory yellow card for her shirt-shedding celebrations - do you think she cared? Confidence buoyed by the goal, Cedeno nearly turned provider for a second strike three minutes later. The substitute cleverly nutmegged Arrieta with a cheeky back-heel before firing in a cross which flew past the face of the incoming figure of Cox, who delivered another free-kick which was punched off Deysire Salazar's head by Bobadilla in the 84th minute, as Paraguay struggled to come to terms with falling behind on the scoreboard. They looked to revive their hopes via a long-range free-kick from Fany Gauto, but her effort cleared the crossbar, while after Cox had landed a curling effort on the roof of Bobadilla's net in stoppage time, Paraguayan substitute Fanny Godoy let rip from twenty-five yards in the final minute. Bailey proved equal to the task, however, ensuring Panama of clashes with Brazil, France and fellow CONCACAF contenders Jamaica in Australia in five months' time. Panama's joyous post-match celebrations contrasted starkly with the Paraguayans' despair, Bobadilla and Jessica Martinez in particular taking this defeat very hard. On the day, however, one goal was what it took to separate these closely matched sides, and Panama were the team who found a way to break the deadlock and earn themselves a first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup Finals berth. Paraguay:     Bobadilla; Fretes, M. Martinez (Riso, 43), Riveros, Arrieta (Barros, 82); R. Martinez (Bogarin, 82), Quintana (Gauto, 82), Godoy, Chamorro; J. Martinez, Fernandez (Sandoval, 59) Panama:     Bailey; Baltrip-Reyes, Espinosa, Pinzon, Natis (booked, 85), Jaen; Hernandez (L. Cedeno, 46 (booked, 76), Salazar, Gonzalez (Montenegro, 87), Cox (booked, 5); Tanner Referee:     Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)