Panama are Copa America’s surprise package writing their own destiny

Panama head coach Christiansen saw his team put ghosts of the past to rest in Orlando (Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Panama’s strength has been evident in the group stage. Despite having lost 3-1 to Uruguay in their opening game, Panama is still the only team to have scored on the tournament favorite. The team’s success is not lost on its players.

Monday’s win “is the result of the hard work we’ve been doing for quite some time,” Martinez said. “I believe today that was reflected in the tournament. I’m happy with the story that we’re writing, and for making it to the quarterfinals.”

Martinez’s assist to Fajardo was the spark Panama needed against Bolivia, which has been the nation to concede the most goals in the competition (10). While the South Americans did not make it easy for Panama, with Bruno Miranda equalizing in the 69th minute, Bolivia were only to keep the game tied for a long 10 minutes.

Christiansen’s decision to bring fresh legs into the match paid off, with both remaining goals scored for Panama coming from players recently subbed in. Eduardo Guerrero scored a diving header just five minutes after entering the match and Cesar Yanis sealed Panama’s victory in the 91st minute just seconds after coming onto the pitch.

“It’s true, we are the surprise of the tournament,” Panama defender Cesar Blackman said following the victory. “No one expected it. We were able to win that game against the United States. Now, we were able to respond well against Bolivia. We eliminated one of the giants.”

“We’re very happy. The team is happy,” he continued. “I believe all of Panama is happy with us and, well, now we have to look towards the quarterfinals.”

That match will likely feature another tournament giant: Colombia or Brazil.

“We know it’s going to be a very difficult game,” Blackman said. “But we came to this Copa America to compete and to continue making history.”

(Top photo: Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images) 

Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5610629/2024/07/02/panama-copa-america-bolivia-united-states/

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Publish date : 2024-07-02 08:59:13

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