Uruguay vs Panama 08/06/19

8 June 2019

Uruguay and Panama go head-to-head for an international friendly at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, as Óscar Tabárez looks to lead his team to third consecutive international triumph.

The hosts have won two of their games in 2019, beating Uzbekistan and Thailand to nil while scoring seven goals in the process. Still, the South Americans have not enjoyed the best of times since the World Cup elimination, having four straight losses following a 4-1 win over Mexico in their first post-World Cup friendly. Interestingly, all four of those defeats have been settled by a narrow one-goal margin, with two of them ending with the same 1-0 scoreline. If La Celeste win here, it would probably be accompanied by a clean sheet, as eight of their last ten triumphs saw them beat their opponents without conceding a goal.

The visitors are looking to bounce back after a disastrous 3-0 defeat to Colombia a few days ago that has seen them produce just two shots on target for the entire game. It was the ninth successive game in the post-World Cup period where Los Canaleros failed to pick up a victory (D3, L6), and also the sixth in which they’ve struggled to find the net. Julio Dely Valdés has yet to help his team rise following a disappointing performance in Russia, with Panama conceding 2+ match goals on six occasions since exiting the final tournament. What’s more, their immense difficulties in the final third have seen them score one goal or less in 18 of their last 19 outings.