Preview: Costa Rica vs. Panama - prediction, team news, lineups

Match preview

We are entering a new era of Costa Rican football as they seek to make the semi-finals of this tournament for the second time in three appearances.

A good portion of the squad chosen for this match will be names that many may be unfamiliar with as Gustavo Alfaro prepares for his first game as manager following a three-year stint with the Ecuador national team.

The 61-year-old Argentine guided the Ecuadorians to the previous World Cup with a compact defensive shape, which saw them earn four points from their first two games, conceding just once over that stretch, narrowly missing the last 16 after a 2-1 defeat versus Senegal.

Los Ticos have struggled defensively of late, conceding four goals in their previous international friendly against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) losing that match 4-1, while this team gave up eight strikes in four Gold Cup fixtures this past summer and allowed 11 in their three World Cup matches last November and December, the most among the 32 teams in the group stage of that tournament.

Not only have there been issues defensively for this side, but they have not been able to generate much in the attacking third either, particularly in Costa Rica, where they have yet to score in two home matches played this year (1-0 defeats versus Panama and Guatemala).

Since the start of 2021, Los Ticos have been eliminated from their previous three knockout stage encounters in either the Gold Cup or Nations League, failing to score in any of those games, though they did net twice in their third-place match against Honduras at the inaugural Nations League (2-2) eventually losing on penalties.

It was a solid group phase for Los Canaleros at the Nations League, as they avoided defeat in that phase of this competition for a second successive campaign.

Thomas Christiansen has built them into a contending team who, despite some strong tournament showings in the region, have yet to clutch a CONCACAF title, losing the 2023 Gold Cup dramatically to Mexico (1-0).

Judging from the selections made by their Danish coach ahead of this game, it is a win-now mode for the Panamanians, with these players often featuring together in past CONCACAF competitions, having qualified into at least the semi-finals of the previous Nations League and Gold Cup competitions, respectively.

A late surge in the final half of 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign by Costa Rica prevented Panama from making the finals for a second successive time, as they wound up four points behind Los Ticos for an inter-confederation playoff berth despite going unbeaten in their first three matchdays in the Octagon.

Panama have been outscored 3-0 in their only two matches played beyond the Nations League group stage, conceding two goals on three targeted efforts against Canada in the semi-finals earlier this year before losing the third-place match to Mexico 1-0.

Since suffering a backbreaking 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at Costa Rica in January 2022, Los Canaleros have defeated them on three successive occasions, including twice at the previous Nations League by a combined score of 3-0.

Costa Rica form (all competitions):

L

D

W

L

W

L

Panama CONCACAF Nations League form:

W

D

W

W

Panama form (all competitions):

L

W

W

D

W

W

Advert - content below:

Team News

The most notable absentee for Costa Rica in this opening match will be captain Keylor Navas, who has barely played for his club side Paris Saint-Germain since Gianluigi Donnarumma joined, Alexandre Lezcano is seeking his first international cap, while the other two goalkeepers chosen Kevin Chamorro and Patrick Sequeira have eight and two appearances respectively.

Julio Cascante scored his first international goal in their previous defeat versus the UAE, Joel Campbell can surpass Celso Borges and Juan Ulloa for fifth in all-time goals with Los Ticos as the three of them are tied with 27, while the Alajuelense striker can also draw even with Bryan Ruiz for fourth with a brace.

In their previous international victory, Francisco Calvo scored his ninth international goal, while Manfred Ugalde and Randall Leal each netted for the first time on the international stage, defeating Saudi Arabia 3-1, with the Nashville SC winger being the only one of those three not selected for this encounter.

From matchday three to four at the Nations League group stage, Christiansen made just one change to his starting 11 as Jose Luis Rodriguez came into the fold, with Alberto Quintero relegated to the bench.

Goals from Adalberto Carrasquilla, Eric Davis and Abdiel Ayarza propelled them to a comfortable victory over the Guatemalans in their previous contest, with Orlando Mosquera stopping just one shot for his first clean sheet of the competition.

Jose Fajardo has two goals in his last two matches versus Costa Rica as he and Yoel Barcenas found the mark in their 2-1 goal Gold Cup triumph against them, while the DC United striker netted the only goal when the defeated them 1-0 at the previous Nations League.

Costa Rica possible starting lineup:

Chamorro; Valverde, Cascante, Calvo, Oviedo; Acuna, Aguilera, Tejeda, Bennette; Ugalde, Campbell

Panama possible starting lineup:

Mosquera; Murillo, Escobar, Cordoba, Davis; Godoy, Carrasquilla; Quintero, Barcenas, Yanis; Fajardo

We say: Costa Rica 0-1 Panama

Panama have a familiarity with one another that is likely to take more time for the current Costa Rican squad to build, while Los Canaleros are hungry to win and should come into this match a lot fresher than their opponents, who have not played as many meaningful games of late.

Previews by email