Norwich City new man Jose Cordoba has his work cut out when he takes on Uruguay with Panama overnight.

The Panamanians kick off their Copa América campaign against Marcelo Bielsa’s side (2am tomorrow, UK), and it may be a damage limitation exercise as they look to emerge from the group stage and make the quarter-finals.

With talent such as Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez and Federico Valverde to deal with it could be a tough night for Cordoba and his team-mates, who are also without injured captain Anibal Godoy.

Manager Thomas Christiansen acknowledged the size of the task facing his side, but said he still had faith as long as they retained their motivation.

"We are going up against one of the best teams in the world, who are going through a good phase, who have great players and a coach with a lot of resources," he said.

"It's going to be a very intense team physically, that is what (Uruguay coach Marcelo) Bielsa wants from his players, and we have to counteract that with our play.

"Maybe people don't have much faith in Panama's chances. I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is the motivation of the players, the desire and the intensity they'll bring to the game.

"If there's one good thing about Panama, it's the lungs, the heart and the desire to do well in tournaments. We saw that in last year's Copa Oro, when we played at a high level, and that's the objective: to regain that confidence, that joy and to enjoy ourselves again."

Bielsa's team are hoping to do their talking on the pitch, despite mixed results in recent friendlies.

"It's a new episode and we are looking forward to showing the level we are capable of," he said. "I always think it's better to show what you want to do than to anticipate or say it beforehand.

"Competitions like this are tests to confirm or not the place that each player deserves to represent Uruguay."