Panama claimed the fourth spot from Central America in the 2007 Gold Cup when the Canaleros beat Costa Rica, 1-0, on Tuesday night and took first place in Group 2 at the UNCAF Digicel Cup being played in San Salvador, El Salvador. Alberto Blanco scored the late goal to give Panama the win over Costa Rica, the defending champion.
Costa Rica, which finished second in Group 2, had already qualified for the Gold Cup with its 3-1 win over Honduras on Friday and Panama’s 0-0 tie with Honduras on Sunday.
As expected, El Salvador and Guatemala claimed the top two spots in Group 1 of the UNCAF Digicel Cup and will play in the Gold Cup. The host Salvadorans edged Guatemala for first place on goal difference after the teams played to a 0-0 tie on Monday. Nicaragua beat Belize, 4-2, to take third place in Group 1 and meets Honduras Thursday for fifth place at the UNCAF Digicel Cup and the final berth in the Gold Cup, which will be played June 6-24 in the United States.
El Salvador meets Costa Rica and Panama faces Guatemala in Thursday’s UNCAF Digicel Cup semifinals in San Salvador. The Salvadorans are led by former D.C. United forward Eliseo Quintanilla, who has scored three of their four goals.