The All Whites had taken the lead through a Marko Stamenic goal in the 13th minute and played some fine football. However Panama always looked likely – close on a couple of occasions in the opening half – before their equaliser through Giovany Herbert,which came with the last kick of the first period.

Both teams had chances in the second half – as the game stretched out – with Lachlan Bayliss going closest to a decisive goal. But the penalty shootout was an impressive effort from Darren Bazeley’s team, given how infrequent New Zealand senior teams find themselves in that scenario.

The result, even via a shootout, will continue the momentum gained across this period, after the 2-2 draw with Palestine and the 3-0 win over China.

On Thursday Elijah Just was closely marked – and came in for some heavy treatment. Stamenic was again impressive in central midfield, while Ben Old continues to thrive in his new left back role. Tyler Bindon was a standout in central defence, assured on both sides of the ball. Chris Wood led the line well, without many chances.

It’s a pleasing effort, as Panama is a quality team. Though much has been made of their failure to score a goal or earn a point at the recent World Cup, they were in one of the most difficult groups and emerged with credit from three tight matches against Ghana (0-1), Croatia (0-1) and England (0-2).

Coach Bazeley made three changes to his starting XI that faced China. Wood, Michael Boxall and Alex Rufer were introduced, with Bill Tuiloma and Jesse Randall benched. Callum McCowatt was unavailable after the concussion sustained against China on Monday.

In hot conditions, the first half was a bright and breezy affair. Panama dominated the early exchanges, as New Zealand could barely get on the ball, as they tried to work their way into the match. But the All Whites went ahead after 13 minutes, with Stamenic’s strike, another impressive team goal, after Ben Waine’s effort against China.

It started with Callan Elliot breaking down the right, before he found Just. The Swansea midfielder’s clipped ball was delivered perfectly for an onrushing Waine, who controlled well before laying off for Stamenic. From there, Panama had the majority of opportunities. Herbert was just wide of the post, before José Fajardo should have equalised in the 35^th minute, contriving to miss from four yards – after escaping the attention of Bindon – which it looked easier to score.

That was a let off, but the momentum was building for the Central American team, with the same player close to connecting with a through ball. But the All Whites had their moments. The best was when Just cleverly released Elliot into space but the defender seemed caught in two minds, as he produced neither a shot nor a cross, though it looked like he was trying to find Waine at the far post.

However, Panama had the last say before the interval, in what was a disappointing concession, as Herbert flashed a first time shot from the edge of the area into the far corner. It came after José Luis Rodríguez conjured his way past Elliot and no one was covering, before his precise cross found an unmarked Herbert, who hadn’t been tracked by either Stamenic or Rufer.

Panama lifted the intensity after the break, with midfielder Cristian Martínez unable to capitalise on an errant back pass by Boxall, which left Paulsen stranded. Both coaches rolled the substitutes, with Bazeley bringing on Randall (Waine), Lachie Bayliss (Rufer) and Dane Ingham (Elliot) after 66 minutes.

Bayliss almost had an instant impact, curling a left foot effort just wide of the far post, after making space on the edge of the area, following a determined run by Logan Rogerson. Fellow replacement Dalton Wilkins lifted a header over the bar, before Just forced a save with a low drive and Bayliss was unable to make the most of the follow up.

New Zealand reverted to five at the back in the final stages – a 5-4-1 shape – and looked content to soak up pressure, though Randall headed against the post from close range, from a Bayliss cross, though the Dundee United player was fractionally offside.

Bindon set the tone in the shootout with a confident penalty, drilled into the bottom corner, with Stamenic producing a carbon copy. Moses Dyer then managed a cheeky ‘Panenka’ – dinking it over the prone keeper, with a nerveless effort. Then came Paulsen’s moment, as he guessed right to save from Mijahír Jiménez. Bayliss also made no mistake with a composed take, before 38-year-old Boxall coolly sealed the result.

All Whites 1 (Marko Stamenic 13’)

Panama 1 (Giovany Herbert 46’)

HT: 1-1

All Whites win 5-3 on penalties.

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.