After both securing first-placed finishes in their League A groups earlier this year, Panama and Canada will square off on Thursday in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League in Nevada.
Canada pipped Honduras to top spot in their group, while their opponents finished unbeaten ahead of Costa Rica and Martinique, and both will fight to progress to the final before going into the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the end of June.
Match preview
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Panama head to USA for the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals having progressed through their group in impressive fashion, maintaining an unbeaten record in their four outings as they began with a 2-0 triumph over Costa Rica last June.
Thomas Christiansen's side then thrashed Martinique 5-0 before playing out a goalless draw in the reverse fixture and experiencing a six-game winless run in friendlies around the turn of the year, with draws against Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Cameroon and Guatemala followed by a 2-0 defeat to World Cup winners Argentina in March.
On the back of that tough run, Los Canaleros returned to competitive action later in March in a second meeting with Costa Rica to determine first place in Group B of League A in the Nations League, and knowing a draw would suffice to keep them ahead of their opponents, Panama went above and beyond, finishing in style with a 1-0 away win courtesy of Jose Fajardo's goal 13 minutes from time.
With that result booking their place in the upcoming finals with a tough test against Canada looming, Christiansen's team most recently took on Nicaragua in a friendly on home soil on Sunday, and despite going behind twice, they would remain in the game thanks to Michael Murillo's brace, before snatching a victory in the final 10 minutes through a Roderick Miller goal.
Now heading into the semi-final in Nevada with the odds somewhat stacked against them, Panama will hope to cause an upset and dump out Canada to reach the final and meet either Mexico or USA, before kicking off the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage with another game against Costa Rica later in June.
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They certainly face a particularly difficult task against a Canada side who also cruised through the group stage in League A, albeit having suffered a somewhat surprise defeat along the way.
John Herdman's side began with a 4-0 beating of Curacao last June but would then suffer a 2-1 defeat away at Honduras in their second and final Nations League outing of 2022 before heading to Qatar for the World Cup.
They were not quite able to impress on the global stage in that tournament, bowing out in the group stage following three defeats at the hands of Belgium, Croatia and Morocco, but Herdman's men would pick up where they left off in the Nations League on their return to action in March, completing a double over Curacao with a 2-0 away win courtesy of goals from Jonathan David and Cyle Larin.
That set up another meeting with Honduras in the final round of games, with very little to separate the sides in the group, and Canada were able to avenge the previous defeat in style, sealing first place and booking a spot in the semi-finals with a 4-1 beating as Larin netted an early brace before goals from David and Jonathan Osorio.
Now two games away from their first piece of silverware since 2000, Herdman's side will hope to punch their ticket into the final with a victory over Panama on Thursday, while they also look ahead to the Gold Cup after the Nations League is wrapped up in the USA.
Team News
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Panama will be unable to call on attacker Jose Fajardo on Thursday, as he is suspended for a red card shown soon after he netted the decisive goal in their final Nations League outing against Costa Rica.
We could see a very similar starting XI to the one that beat Nicaragua last week, although Michael Murillo certainly has a strong claim to come in from the outset after netting a brace off the bench in that game.
Attacker Cecilio Waterman was also reduced to a substitute appearance on Sunday, and he may be brought in to lead the line having notched up eight goals so far in his international career, while Alfredo Stephens, Freddy Gondola and Cesar Yanis are all fighting to keep their places in midfield.
John Herdman has called up a strong Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League finals, and a similar starting XI should be deployed to the one that featured in the 4-1 beating of Honduras in March, with Jonathan David and Cyle Larin again bound to lead the line having taken their tallies to 24 and 28 international goals respectively with clinical runs of form.
They will have support from Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies on the left flank, while Jonathan Osorio, Ismael Kone and Stephen Eustaquio could all line up in the centre in a 3-5-2 shape ahead of experienced captain Atiba Hutchinson.
Junior Hoilett will hope to displace Tajon Buchanan and start on the right-hand side on Thursday, while Derek Cornelius's absence may leave space for the likes of Sam Adekugbe, Kamal Miller or Steven Vitoria in the back three.
Panama possible starting lineup:
Samudio; Martinez, Miller, Blackman; Murillo, Yanis, Gondola, Welch; Davis, Waterman, Rodriguez
Canada possible starting lineup:
Borjan; Johnston, Kennedy, Miller; Hoilett, Eustaquio, Osorio, Kone, Davies; Larin, David
We say: Panama 0-3 Canada
Panama will fight hard to defy the odds in Nevada on Thursday, but Canada boast far more quality all over the pitch, and we can only envisage them progressing to the final with a dominant victory.
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Sam Varley
