The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world.
Panama are not members of the South American football confederation CONMEBOL. But because CONMEBOL only has ten member associations, guest nations have regularly been invited since 1993.
The two teams had met in four previous encounters, the latest being a friendly held at the Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz, which Panama won 3–1. This match marked Panama's debut in Copa América, making them the third Central American country to appear at the tournament, after Costa Rica and Honduras.