Faced with a must-win situation on Tuesday, El Salvador will battle Panama at PNC Stadium in the final group stage fixture for both sides at the 2023 Gold Cup.

A 2-1 win over Martinique on matchday two assured the Panamanians of a spot in the quarter-finals, while La Selecta could only manage a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, leaving them with just a single point after two matches.

Match preview

© Reuters

After missing the knockout stage of this competition two years ago, Los Canaleros are guaranteed a spot in the last eight this time, having won their opening two group fixtures for the first time since 2019.

Two years ago, Panama were 45 minutes away from defeating Honduras before allowing a pair of quick second-half strikes, losing that encounter 3-2 and ultimately finishing outside of the top two because of that loss.

It seems as though Thomas Christiansen's men have learned their lesson this time around as they have scored an insurance marker in each of their opening two Gold Cup group fixtures, allowing a stoppage-time goal each time but ultimately walking away with a pair of 2-1 victories.

Since being officially eliminated from 2022 World Cup contention in late March of that same year, La Marea Roja have not lost an encounter versus a CONCACAF nation when scoring the opening goal, winning all but one of those fixtures, with that lone setback being a 1-1 draw in a friendly versus Guatemala earlier this year.

Avoiding early setbacks has been pivotal to their recent success, as Panama have only captured one encounter since February 2022 when conceding a first-half goal.

With their place in the next phase of this competition assured, you would think Panama would want to avoid playing Mexico in the last eight at all costs, which means they would need just a single point from this upcoming encounter to shore up first place in their Gold Cup group for the first time since 2013.

© Reuters

After putting together a solid 2021 Gold Cup campaign and following that up by making it into the final stage of World Cup qualifying for only the second time this century, El Salvador seem to have regressed lately.

For a match which finished 0-0 on Friday, we still saw a lively affair between La Selecta and the Costa Ricans, though both teams failed to keep their composure in front of goal.

A lack of finishing has been a recurring theme for this group since Hugo Perez took charge, as the Salvadorans have notched a goal or fewer in all six of their matches played this year.

They enter this contest winless in seven successive games, while La ES have not beaten a Central American side since late January 2022 when they shut out Honduras 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

El Salvador sit two points behind Martinique for a place in the last eight of this tournament, meaning that not only do they need to win this match, but Les Matinino must lose or draw Costa Rica, though if the latter occurs, La Selecta would need to register at least a two-goal victory in this upcoming match, and they have not been able to do that since June 2022 (4-1 win over Grenada).

While they have only captured one of their previous seven encounters versus the Panamanians over the last decade, El Salvador came out on top in their only previous Gold Cup meeting versus Los Canaleros, defeating them on penalties in 2011 to advance into the semi-finals.

Team News

© Reuters

Christiansen only made one change to his Panamanian starting 11 from matchday one to two, with Alberto Quintero coming into the lineup in place of Ismael Diaz, while Roderick Miller, Jovani Welch and Cesar Yanis all made their first appearance of the tournament from the substitutes bench.

Jose Fajardo has goals in back-to-back games, Michael Murillo scored the winner 21 minutes from the end against Martinique, while Orlando Mosquera conceded in stoppage time for a second match running.

The last time they played El Salvador, Los Canaleros walked away with a 2-1 triumph as Cecilio Waterman and Freddy Gondola scored three minutes apart in the second half of that contest, with the latter notching his first on the international stage.

La Selecta brought in four newcomers to its starting 11 against Los Ticos as Mario Gonzalez reclaimed his place in goal over Tomas Romero, while Jairo Henriquez, Narciso Orellana and Joshua Perez were inserted into the lineup over Kevin Reyes, Christian Martinez and Harold Osorio.

Without their top two goalscorers from the recent CONCACAF Nations League tournament, Nelson Bonilla and Alexander Larin, El Salvador have looked a little thin in the attack, with Cristian Gil being their only striker at the Gold Cup with an international goal to his name (two), while their only goal in this competition so far came courtesy of defender Bryan Tamacas, his first with La Selecta.

Alex Roldan is two appearances away from reaching 20 for the national team, Roberto Dominguez is four shy of 60 and Ronald Rodriguez needs four more caps to hit 30.

Panama possible starting lineup:
Mosquera; Escobar, Cummings, Andrade; Murillo, Carrasquilla, Godoy, Davis; Waterman, Barcenas; Fajardo

El Salvador possible starting lineup:
Gonzalez; Tamacas, Zavaleta, Cabalceta, Roldan; Henriquez, Martinez, Orellana, Reyes; Osorio; C. Gil

We say: Panama 1-0 El Salvador

El Salvador need to step up and show they are a true contending team in this region, but we do not believe they have the personnel to find a way through an experienced Panamanian backline.

Even though their Gold Cup journey will continue after this match, Christiansen is thinking long-term, and he will know that their easiest path into the semi-finals would be a first-place finish, something they are guaranteed of doing with a win or draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

Previews by email