Mordovia Authorities Help Local Schoolboy Get Autograph of Panama Captain Torres

10:09 GMT, 29 June 2018

SARANSK (Sputnik) - German Vybornov, a big fan of Panama defender and captain Roman Torres, had no possibility to attend the team's open training session. Neither he managed to get his favorite player's autograph at the Fan Fest opening ceremony due to a long queue.

Sputnik

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Mordovia Aleksey Merkushkin helped a fourth-grade pupil from the republic's capital of Saransk, German Vybornov, get the autograph of Panama defender and captain Roman Torres.

Merkushkin helped the boy meet Torres and get his autograph when the team was walking around the city.

"The World Cup is a great festival for Saransk… Today my dream has finally come true. I have finally got an autograph of the famous football player," Vybornov told journalists.

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Torres, who is currently the Seattle Sounders and Panama defender, has been capped for Panama 114 times. During the final qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Torres scored the game-winning goal against Costa Rica with three minutes left in the game, which helped Panama qualify for their first ever World Cup.

Panama lost all three group-stage games. Before the 2-1 defeat to Tunisia on Thursday, Panama had lost 3-0 to Belgium and 6-1 to England.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.