Costa Rica vs Panama prediction: NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA: Gold Cup betting tips on match 2023-06-26 00:30.
The next chapter of a storied history between Costa Rica and Panama will wrap up the Monday double-header in Fort Lauderdale when the two favourites to progress from Group C lock horns for the seventh time in three years. After dominating Panama throughout the 20th century and much of the 2000s, Costa Rica have a score to settle after dual losses to Panama in the most recent CONCACAF Nations League.
They’re expected to progress beyond the group stage of the Gold Cup for a 13th consecutive time, but with the possibility of facing continental giants Mexico in the quarter-finals should they finish second in Group C, winning the group is paramount. Five losses from their last seven meetings with Panama (W1, D1) won’t inspire confidence, nor will their lead-up to this tournament which included friendly losses to Guatemala (1-0) and Ecuador (3-1) in the USA earlier this month.
Panama were ultimately unsuccessful at the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League finals at the beginning of this month, failing to score against both Canada (L 2-0) and Mexico (L 1-0). Manager Thomas Christiansen pointed to those narrow margins as evidence that his team is “on the right track”, and if they can go one better than their third place in Group D of the 2021 edition, his claim will certainly be vindicated.
Christiansen, who was infamously driven to tears after his side failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, is also hellbent on improvement in this tournament after he oversaw Panama’s worst Gold Cup campaign in 16 years during the previous edition. Their two Nations League wins over Costa Rica should give them plenty of confidence, but a better start will be required. Panama have scored a mere three first-half goals since the start of November 2022, which goes some way to explaining a poor run of results in that period (W2, D4, L3).
Players to watch: Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell will be hoping to go even better than his 2021 Gold Cup run in which he bagged a goal and assist in his first two group stage games (W2). Meanwhile, 35-year-old winger Alberto Quintero scored Panama’s earliest goal of that campaign – a seventh-minute strike in a win over Grenada.
Hot stat: All but one of the last ten H2Hs produced fewer than 2.5 total goals.