On Tuesday, Panama will host Costa Rica at the DRV PNK Stadium and kick-start their Gold Cup journey. After recently securing 4th place at the CONCACAF Nations League, they will be full of hope going into their first game.
Key Takeaways
· Costa Rica lost both of their previous games against Panama in the Nations League.
· Panama have lost their previous two matches heading into this fixture.
· Costa Rica have not lost in the group stage of the Gold Cup for ten years.
Panama Form
Los Canaleros have had a decent year so far, starting in March with a 1-1 draw with Nicaragua before valiantly losing to recently crowned world champions Argentina in a 2-0 defeat. After these two friendlies, they returned to competitive action in the Nations League seeing off Costa Rica 1-0 despite being down to ten men after the man who scored the winning goal on the 77th minute, Jose Fajardo, was sent off just 11 minutes later. Another friendly saw another win in a close battle with Nicaragua, two late goals ensured that they came from behind to secure a hard-fought win.
Then came their two defeats to respectable opposition in two World Cup-qualified teams. Losing in the semi-finals of the Nations League to Canada 2-0 and then narrowly missing out on Third place to Mexico 1-0.
Costa Rica Form
Costa Rica have been in dismal form since the end of the World Cup, they started out by winning their friendly against Martinique 2-1 but have since lost to Panama and Guatemala 1-0, before losing 3-1 to Ecuador, they will certainly be looking to turn thing around as they head into this tournament.
Head-to-Head
These nations have faced each other a remarkable 31 times before, and there have been 12 draws between them, with Costa Rica having the edge with 16 wins in total. Back in the thirties, Costa Rica won their first meeting 11-0 and went on to win the next two fixtures 7-0. Recent form has all been about Panama however, with Costa Rica recording just one win since 2017.
Team News
With the retirement of the legendary Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica enter their first competition without him for years and will look to others for their creative spark. Other regulars such as Bryan Oviedo and Yeltsin Tejeda have all failed to make the final 23 for the tournament.
Panama have chosen an experienced squad with 7 players with 70 or more caps including Alberto Quintero and Anibal Godoy in the mix.
Key Players
The in-form Ismael Diaz could be the difference maker for Panama throughout the tournament, he has 4 goals for the national team but is in red-hot form for his club Universidad Catolica, scoring 10 goals in 23 games from the wing since joining.
Juan Pablo Vargas has been a rock at the back for Costa Rica since joining relatively late in his career, and will be a breath of fresh air to liven up a stale defence.
Final Thoughts
Costa Rica typically do well in this tournament but the resurgence of Panama, coupled with their recent victories over Costa Rica would have Los Canaleros as the favourites.
Gold Cup