On September 14, 2010, Dely Valdés became head coach of the Panama national football team. He became coach after FEPAFUT chose him over the Colombian Luis Fernando Suarez. He had a contract for 10 months to coach the national team for the Copa Centroamericana and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The contract had an option to be extended to include the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He appointed twin brother Jorge as his assistant. They led Panama to the final round of World Cup qualifying, but ultimately fell short. After failing to qualify for the World Cup, the Dely Valdés brothers did not continue managing Panama.