Panama vs El Salvador

Shell Energy Stadium forms the backdrop for a lopsided 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group C contest between Panama and El Salvador.

Panama’s bid to make amends for an underwhelming group-stage exit at the previous Gold Cup edition couldn’t have gone better so far, with ‘Los Canaleros’ winning both opening Group C fixtures to secure a knockout berth with a game to spare. A brace of 2-1 victories over Costa Rica and Martinique means a draw would help Thomas Christiansen’s side to avoid Mexico in the Gold Cup quarter-finals and lock horns with Asian nation Qatar instead. But it’s not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination, as they’ve lost twice in their last three clashes against El Salvador (W1). Nonetheless, an evenly-contested affair could be in store, with each of the ten most recent H2Hs between these two nations featuring a full-time margin of under 1.5 goals.

As for El Salvador, a poor two-game winless start to their Group C journey (D1, L1) ought to extend their mixed Gold Cup results. They have alternated between knockout qualification (3) and group-stage elimination (2) in their last five Gold Cup campaigns, reaching the quarter-finals in 2021. However, their chances of progressing into the knockouts are not dead in the water yet, although they look pretty slim. ‘La Selecta’ must beat Panama here and hope Costa Rica and Martinique will share the spoils in the other final-day fixture to secure a runner-up spot. Unfortunately for head coach Hugo Perez, his men are winless in their last ten internationals (D4, L6), a run stretching back to June 2022. On top of that, a lack of firepower has seen El Salvador draw a blank in five of their seven most recent outings.