CARSON — Two near-misses has the Panama men’s soccer team looking to take a next step in CONCACAF tournaments.
Monday, in the opening game of Group C play in this year’s Gold Cup, Panama scored in the sixth minute, Ismael Diaz was one goal away from a hat trick by the 17th minute and the rout was officially on.
Panama scored four goals in the first 22 minutes on the way to a 5-2 victory over Guadeloupe at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“The key part was to come out prepared and with a good mindset,” Panama coach Thomas Christiansen said.
Christian Martinez got things started, scoring in the sixth minute. Diaz then scored in the 13th and 17th and appeared that the rout was on. It definitely was trending that way when Eduardo Guerrero converted a penalty kick in the 22nd minute for a 4-0 lead.
Diaz didn’t end up getting his hat trick, perhaps the only disappointing development of the night for Panama.
“He’s grown a lot over the last year,” Christiansen said of Diaz. “He’s taken more responsibility and he’s compromised a lot. He has great confidence in himself.”
Panama has finished second in the last two CONCACAF tournaments, both occasions, losing to Mexico. In 2023, a late goal by Santiago Gimenez gave Mexico a 1-0 win the Gold Cup final. Earlier this year, Mexico defeated Panama, 2-1, in the Nations League final.
Where it used to be easy call to say Mexico and the United States were the clear top two teams in CONCACAF, now with the emergence of Canada and Panama, there is a legitimate battle to be considered the king of the region.
“Hopefully we can reach that final,” Christiansen said. “But we have to go little by little and pick up the pace in the competition.”
Despite falling behind early, Guadeloupe still managed to put forth a decent effort, putting the Panamanian group under some problems, especially in the second half. Goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera came up with six saves to keep Guadeloupe at bay.
In the 71st minute, Guadeloupe caught a break, earning a penalty kick, which Florian David converted making it 4-2.
However, that was close as Guadeloupe would get because deep into stoppage time, Panama added a fifth goal, scored by Tomás Rodríguez.
“In the second half, we didn’t possess the ball as much as we wanted to,” Christiansen said. “In the end, we got the result we wanted. When you go up 4-1, 4-2, the team will become relaxed, but in the end, we got the result we wanted.”
Group play continues Friday for Panama against Guatemala in Austin, Texas. Guadeloupe will face Jamaica.
“In the match against Guatemala, we will give it our all,” Christiansen said.
Guadeloupe’s best Gold Cup performance came in 2007, advancing to the semifinals, eventually finishing fourth. In 2009, the nation advanced to the quarterfinals and finished sixth. In the last two editions (2021 and 2023), Guadeloupe hasn’t advanced out of the group stage.
