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Losing a World Cup match and still walking away with the best player award is a rare kind of bittersweet. That is exactly what happened to Cristian Martínez on June 23, 2026, when Panama fell 0-1 to Croatia in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L fixture, and the Panamanian midfielder took home Player of the Match honors anyway.
Martínez, 29, dedicated the award to the people of Panama, framing the recognition not as personal glory but as a symbol of what the national team stands for.
Winning something in a loss
Martínez plays under the nickname “Fulo” and grew up in El Chorrillo, Panama City. He now competes in the Israeli Premier League with Ironi Kiryat Shmona, a club he joined in 2025 after previous stints with Columbus Crew in MLS and Monagas SC in Venezuela.
His international record sits at over 67 caps for Panama, which puts him firmly in the category of established national team stalwarts rather than someone just passing through.
The Copa América 2024 connection
The Croatia match was not the first time Martínez collected a major individual award at an international tournament. At Copa América 2024, he was named the Most Valuable Player, a recognition that came on the back of a standout campaign where he logged 277 minutes across the competition.
Martínez has cited discipline, which he attributes to his upbringing in El Chorrillo, as a central pillar of how he plays. The Panama national team operates under the ethos of “Total Commitment to Panama,” and Martínez has become one of the more visible embodiments of that phrase.
His teammates, according to his own comments after the Croatia match, share his perspective on the Player of the Match award. He revealed what they said to him about the recognition, framing it as a collective pride rather than individual achievement.
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