Following Honduras’ 5-0 rout of Cuba, Mexico knew it was playing for second place against Panama on Wednesday night, and a 60th-minute strike from Carlos Salcido proved to be enough to reach that goal. However, the Tricolores played far from inspiring stuff for long stretches, and overall, Panama looked the more dangerous of the two sides. Nevertheless, the four-time Gold Cup champion used its experience to churn out the result it needed in a cautious and some might say tedious manner — especially following the goal-fest from Honduras earlier in the night.
“We again were imprecise in our passing,” Mexico striker Francisco Fonseca conceded after the match. “Panama is a complicated rival, very strong physically, and a team that played its game.” After three flat performances, the Mexicans can no longer be considered the tournament favorite, and they face an especially tough test this weekend against Central American champ Costa Rica, the second-place finisher in Group A.
Panama qualified for the next phase, too, as one of the best third- place finishers, and will travel to Foxborough, Mass. to play the U.S. on Saturday. That game will be a rematch of the tense 2005 Gold Cup final, which the U.S. eventually won on penalties. Coach Alexandre Guimaraes said he was pleased with his team’s display against Mexico. “We dominated for long stretches, probably 70-75 minutes of the 90-minute match,” outshooting Mexico 16-7.