TUKWILA, Wash. – Forty-eight hours after he scored the goal that sent Panama to its first-ever World Cup and forever cemented his status as an undisputed legend in his home country, Roman Torres rejoined the Seattle Sounders at a rain-soaked training session at Starfire Sports Complex on Thursday.
It’s been a whirlwind two days for Seattle’s 31-year-old stalwart defender, who ranged forward from his center back position to score the dramatic tally that secured a 2-1 victory for Panama over Costa Rica, punching their ticket to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Speaking with reporters through a translator after returning to Seattle on Thursday, Torres reflected on the momentous goal, which also proved to be the fatal blow to the US men’s national team World Cup qualifying hopes.
“Pure happiness. The Panamanians are so blessed with what happened,” Torres said. “It’s something we’ve been working towards for a very long time. I can’t say it enough, the stadium was just pure happiness and euphoria over what happened. It was a historic moment for our country and for our national team.”
As a hulking central defender, Torres isn’t exactly known for his attacking prowess, but he has been known to push forward in desperate circumstances on both the club and international level.
Torres said that he was expecting to receive instructions from the sideline to do exactly that as Tuesday’s contest hit the 85th minute tied at 1-1. But when those instructions never came, he took it upon himself.
“I looked up and I saw the score was 1-1,” Torres said. “I looked over to the bench and I’m just awaiting instructions on when they’re going to say, ‘Hey, Roman, get up field a little bit more.’ That moment didn’t come, so I just went. I went and I trusted my teammates were going to win that header and the ball arrived at my feet. It stayed right there and I was able to score the goal.”
The tally immediately set off a wild scene at Panama City’s Estadio Rommel Fernandez Stadium and represents a career-defining moment for Torres, who has 103 career senior caps for Panama and serves as the team captain. It also came just 10 months after he cashed home the game-winning penalty kick that gave the Sounders their first-ever MLS Cup.
“The last 48 hours have been crazy. It’s still crazy right now,” Torres said. “My time in the airport was just as mad as you guys have seen. Panama’s experiencing a pure happiness right now that we’ve never had before.
“It’s a memory that will never fade for many Panamanians. What happened on Tuesday is something that is historic for our whole country. Roman Torres scoring the goal that sent Panama to the World Cup. It’s something that will never be erased from anybody’s memory.”
