Norwich City's summer signing Jose Cordoba has been hailed as Panama’s Copa America leader of the pack.
The 23-year-old centre back will link up with the Canaries after his country’s appearance at the high profile tournament, which continues on Thursday night against Josh Sargent’s USA (KO 11pm GMT).
Cordoba has been thrust into a senior international role with pre-tournament injuries to fellow defenders Andrés Andrade and Fidel Escobar.
The trio were ever presents in Panama’s run to the Concacaf Nations League semi-finals but Andrade, who plays for Lask Linz in Austria, suffered cruciate knee ligament damage while Escobar was ruled out with a thigh problem.
Cordoba only had 14 international caps going into the Copa America, but led the ‘Los Canaleros’ backline for the opening 3-1 group defeat to Uruguay, and is expected to be a crucial figure against the hosts in Georgia.
“I feel very good personally. I take responsibility (for being the leader of the team). We are still very young but I think we communicate well,” said City’s summer signing. “I personally feel with the loss of our captain, and the other casualties, it is very difficult for us.
"We are a young group. But we are embracing that responsibility. When we go out on the pitch we think about our families, and we want to do the best for them.
“Whenever we talk about the games between ourselves at breakfast or lunch we talk about the details, the mistakes, and you want to hear people’s opinions in order to improve.
“It is true that myself and the other defenders are still adapting. We have not had many games together. But that is not an excuse. We know we have to improve the weak points.”
Cordoba’s reported €3.5m move from Bulgarian club Levski Sofia has been ranked as one of the best pieces of transfer business by any English club so far this summer, by a leading sports intelligence company.
Panama coach Thomas Christiansen admitted ahead of the US clash Cordoba is now one of his crucial players in an injury-hit squad.
“In the absence of leaders, there are others, not just the captain who are becoming those leaders. Jose, with his young age is one,” he said. “He has assumed his responsibility in the first game, and we hope with each game that passes he can assume even more, and above all that there is more communication as the leader of that defence.
“This is not a tournament we normally take part in. That is why we have to enjoy it, we have to live it, and we have to compete, so that later it can help us for the (World Cup) qualifiers.
"But with the injuries we have it is an opportunity to give others a chance, so they can graduate to be a part of it in the future. So we have many positive aspects.
"If we are focused on what we have to do and show that commitment and that physical effort I think we can play a decent game (against the US), like we did against Uruguay in the second half. But the details are going to be the difference.
"We cannot make silly passes that lead to offensive transition moments, because the US is very fast and very good in individual situations. But we always want to compete."