Before both kicking off competitive campaigns in the coming weeks, Bolivia and Panama will meet in an international friendly at the Estadio Felix Capriles on Sunday.
The hosts begin their World Cup Qualifying bid in early September, while Panama are building towards the CONCACAF Nations League after recently reaching the CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
Match preview
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Bolivia head into their final international friendly on Sunday before returning to competitive action in World Cup qualifying next month, after their most recent competitive action was in qualifying last year.
That campaign finished at the start of 2022, as La Verde suffered four consecutive defeats to end the campaign, eventually finishing ninth in the South American group and missing out on the competition in Qatar as a result, continuing their wait for a first World Cup group stage appearance since 1996.
Since then, they have been involved in six further international friendlies, and after the first of those, Gustavo Costas took over as manager, beginning with a defeat against Peru before they returned to action earlier this year with another pair of friendlies, firstly losing to Uzbekistan before picking up a first win under their new boss against Saudi Arabia, thanks to goals from Marcelo Moreno and Carmelo Algaranaz.
La Verde were then most recently in action in a pair of friendlies in June and began with a 1-0 defeat to Ecuador in the USA, as Enner Valencia hit the only goal in the 69th minute, before they welcomed Chile to Santa Cruz in the second of their back-to-back outings and played out a goalless draw.
Now with the start of the new qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup just around the corner, as they kick off with tough games against Brazil and Argentina next month, Bolivia will look to build some confidence with a win on home soil on Sunday.
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They meet a Panama team who are also gearing up for more competitive action, with the visitors heading into the CONCACAF Nations League.
Los Canaleros were most recently in action earlier this summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which they enjoyed a strong campaign, firstly topping their group with seven points thanks to victories over Costa Rica and Martinique and a draw with El Salvador.
Thomas Christiansen's team then met Qatar in the quarter-finals and progressed with a rampant 4-0 victory, as Yoel Barcenas opened the scoring and Ismael Diaz netted a second-half hat-trick, before being drawn against the USA and pulling off an upset to book their place in the final, as the contest ended in a 1-1 draw, in which Ivan Anderson opened the scoring in extra time, before they prevailed in a penalty shootout.
Another tough test then awaited in the final in California as Mexico stood in their way, and that tie also looked set to end goalless after 90 minutes and head to extra time, but Panama were cruelly denied late on, as Santiago Gimenez netted the winner in the 88th minute to secure the trophy for El Tri.
While likely feeling a sense of disappointment after falling at the final hurdle, Panama did compete impressively throughout the tournament and should certainly take encouragement, and they will aim to rebuild momentum with an away victory this weekend before beginning the latest CONCACAF Nations League campaign with meetings against Martinique and Guatemala.
Team News
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Gustavo Costas has called up a particularly youthful Bolivia squad for Sunday's friendly, with key men like Carlos Lampe, Diego Bejarano, Jose Sagredo, Danny Bejarano, Ramiro Vaca and Leonel Justiniano all sitting out.
Adrian Jusino, who has 30 caps for La Verde to his name, boasts the most experience in the squad and will be relied upon to command the defence, potentially alongside Carlos Roca and Marcelo Suarez.
With Carmela Algaranaz, Rodrigo Ramallo, Bruno Miranda and all-time top scorer Marcelo Moreno also absent from the squad, there are spots available up front, and Victor Abrego will likely lead the line with Enzo Monteiro, Fernando Nava and Jose Martinez also vying for first international caps.
Panama's squad for the friendly is also largely inexperienced, with goalkeeper Luis Mejia, defenders Harold Cummings, Eric Davis and Roderick Miller and midfielders Anibal Godoy, Adalberto Carrasquilla and Jose Luis Rodriguez among those sitting out.
Christensen has maintained some of his leaders too, though, and Rolando Blackburn, who has netted 12 goals in his 54 international caps, is bound to spearhead the attack, with fellow frontmen Cecilio Waterman, Alberto Quintero, Ismael Diaz and Jose Fajardo all not making the trip.
Jan Carlos Vargas is the only defender in the squad who has turned out for Panama before, leaving the likes of Reyniel Perdomo, Kevin Berkeley and Carlos Harvey to fight for debuts, while Jose Murillo and Cristian Martinez will likely play key roles in midfield.
Bolivia possible starting lineup:
Viscarra; Roca, Jusino, Suarez; Medina, Arrascaita, Ursino, Terceros, Morales; Abrego, Nava
Panama possible starting lineup:
Mosqera; Brown, Harvey, Vargas, Berkeley; Pinzon, Murillo, Martinez, Bernal, Gudino; Blackburn
We say: Bolivia 1-1 Panama
With both nations rotating their squads heavily and giving chances to plenty of younger players, Sunday's friendly is certainly one which could go either way.
We see Panama's squad as slightly stronger, and they have called on more experience, but Bolivia can often be a tough away trip and we see a draw as the most likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
