The quest for a place in World Cup 2026 will begin on Thursday for Panama and Guyana when the two sides square off in Group C action at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.
Los Canaleros are coming off a fourth-place finish at the CONCACAF Nations League earlier this year, losing the bronze medal match versus Jamaica, 1-0, while Guyana were beaten 2-0 by Trinidad and Tobago in their most recent friendly, the second successive defeat against them last month.
Match preview
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With Mexico, the USA and Canada already assured of a spot at the 2026 World Cup as co-hosts, a second appearance in the finals is a distinct possibility for the Panamanians.
Thomas Christiansen's men failed to book a place in Qatar four years ago, going winless in three of their final four qualifying fixtures.
They will enter the second round of 2026 qualifying in a minor slump, losing their previous two encounters versus CONCACAF opponents, while failing to claim a medal at the most recent Nations League.
Before that, however, the Panamanians were in fine form, losing just one of their 13 matches in all competitions and finishing as runners-up at the 2023 Gold Cup.
Not since September-November 2019 has this side suffered three successive defeats in all competitions, well before Christiansen was appointed as the head coach in July 2020.
La Marea Roja were undefeated at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in their previous qualification cycle and have not lost a World Cup qualifier in Panama City since November 2015 (2-1 versus Costa Rica).
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Having lost two of their three competitive fixtures this month, Guyana need some inspiration from somewhere as they begin another qualification campaign.
The Golden Jaguars lost their only two away matches during the 2022 qualification cycle and have yet to win a World Cup qualifier outside Guyana since defeating Barbados (2-0) in October 2011.
Jamaal Shabazz is in his fourth stint as manager of the senior men's squad, and he oversaw their promotion into League A of the CONCACAF Nations League for the first time, as they topped their group with a 100% record.
During that competition, they made a habit of coming from behind, winning three times despite conceding the opening goal.
Guyana have not made it beyond the second round of World Cup qualifying since the 2014 cycle when they were knocked out in round three, finishing bottom of a group that featured El Salvador, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Although they have lost two of their previous three competitive fixtures, this side had won five consecutive matches in all competitions before that, scoring three or more goals each time.
They have not beaten a Central American opponent since claiming a 2-1 victory over Belize in 2019 Nations League qualifying while losing their only previous meeting with Panama at the 2019 Gold Cup (4-2).
Team News
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Andres Andrade will not be available to Panama for an estimated eight to nine months after seriously injuring his right knee while with his club side LASK, while Carlos Harvey of Minnesota United will seek his first international cap on Thursday.
Alberto Quintero is two caps shy of 140, which would put him second all-time for Los Canaleros, Adalberto Carrasquilla, the top player at the 2023 Gold Cup surpassed the half-century mark for caps during the most recent Nations League tournament and Anibal Godoy can move into a tie with Jaime Penedo for third in all-time caps should he feature on Thursday.
Nathan Ferguson will be looking to make his first senior appearance for Guyana this week, Osaze De Rosario, son of former Canadian international striker Dwayne De Rosario, will be seeking his second cap with this side and Daniel Wilson can move beyond Charles Pollard for the second-most caps in the history of this program.
Omari Glasgow is one goal away from 16 with the Golden Jaguars, which would put him in a tie for second with Gregory Richardson as he and Kelsey Benjamin led the way for them in the attacking third in their Nations League B campaign with the former netting seven times and the latter four.
Panama possible starting lineup:
O. Mosquera; Murillo, Miller, O. Davis, E. Davis; Blackman, Carrasquilla, Godoy, Gondola; Stephens, Guerrero
Guyana possible starting lineup:
Roberts; Garrett, Jones, Nelson, Kellman, Gordon; Glasgow, Moriah-Welsh, Duke-McKenna, Wilson; Benjamin
We say: Panama 5-0 Guyana
Even if Christiansen does not choose his traditional side, we believe Panama are far superior in virtually every capacity when compared to Guyana, so the latter could learn a hard lesson in this encounter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
