Panama and Mexico face off on Wednesday in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying at Estadio Rommel Fernández. These two teams faced off on June 30th and it was Mexico that came away with the 3-0 victory.
Panama has to be very happy with the way they have played so far in qualifying. Panama opened up with a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica. In the last game, it was the offense that was strong against Jamaica, putting up three goals, and that led to the victory. Andres Andrade opened up the scoring in the 14th minute, and Panama never looked back. Rolando Blackburn scored in the 39th minute, and Cecilio Waterman finished off the scoring in the 82nd minute. Panama had nine shots total with six going on goal. They also had 61 percent of the possession, and in this game, if they want any chance to come away with the win, they need to try to keep possession.
On the other side of this matchup is Mexico who has gotten out to a perfect start to these qualifiers. Mexico was able to beat Jamaica 2-1 in the first game, before beating Costa Rica Mexico 1-0 in the last game. Orbelin Pineda was the only goal scorer in the last game in stoppage time in the first half against Costa Rica, and that was the difference. Mexico finished with nine shots and three shots went on goal. Mexico allowed Costa Rica to only have one shot on goal, and in this game they are going to need the defense to be strong again. Mexico should feel like the better team in this matchup, and will probably try to push numbers forward.
Mexico should be a lot bigger favorite in this game. Mexico is too good offensively, and Panama is going to have no answer. Look for Mexico to score at least three goals and they will win this game on the money line.