Colombia vs Panama

High-flying Colombia and surprise package Panama go head-to-head in an exciting 2024 Copa America quarter-final tie at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Despite being knocked down from the nation-record run of ten consecutive victories with a gutsy 1-1 draw against Brazil in their group-stage finale, Colombia enter their knockout tie against Panama as substantial favorites to reach their third Copa America semi-finals in the last four editions. Nestor Lozano’s men head into proceedings having avoided defeat in all 26 internationals (W20, D6) since February 2022, looking to post a third consecutive win against Panama. Their two previous H2H wins have come by 3+ goals ‘to nil,’ highlighting the potential for another emphatic scoreline. It’s hard to put it past Los Cafeteros to achieve that feat, considering they’ve bagged at least three goals in four of their last six outings. Delivering action from the onset, Colombia scored before halftime in all six!

As for Panama, a scintillating 3-1 win against Bolivia on Matchday 3 fired them to a runner-up spot in Group C at the expense of the United States despite commencing the tournament with an abysmal 3-1 defeat to Uruguay. However, back-to-back wins ‘to one’ were enough for Panama’s first knockout qualification in only their second Copa America appearance, 12 months after Mexico pipped them to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title in heartbreaking fashion. Since Danish manager Thomas Christiansen took charge of the national team in 2020, Los Canaleros have climbed nearly 40 places in the FIFA rankings, indicating this may not be a walk in the park for Colombia, as odds could suggest. Adding to this sentiment, they’ve emerged victorious from ten of their last 15 outings (D1, L4).