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GUATEMALA CITY - Cecilio Waterman's three goals gave Panama a 3-0 victory over Suriname on Thursday, sending "Los Canaleros" into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship along with the United States.
It was the second loss in as many games without scoring a goal for Suriname, the last team to qualify for the 12-team field and which has failed to get past the first round in five trips to the CONCACAF finals.
The United States, which beat Suriname 4-0 on Tuesday, will face Panama on Saturday to decide the Group B title and seeding for the knockout round.
The Surinamese started better than they did against the United States, maintaining some possession early. But it still struggled to create chances, generating only three shots in the game and one on goal - that coming in the 73rd minute.
Panama, likewise, had difficulty creating opportunities, at least for the first 15 minutes, getting only a weak effort from Javier Caicedo in the ninth minute.
But it eventually found a rhythm and forced Suriname keeper Claidel Kohinor to make an athletic save to thwart Caicedo's header at the right post in the 20th, and required him to tip Waterman's right-footed effort onto the crossbar in the 29th.
Panama continued to swarm around the Suriname goal until a bad backpass in the 36th by Suriname's Kevin Martin at midfield was intercepted by Paul Cordero, who streaked down the right side. He turned inside and fed the ball to Waterman, who took two touches and beat Kohinor with the outside of his right foot from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Central Americans continued their domination in the second half and Waterman added his second in the 60th. Eric Davis' corner struck teammate Manuel Vargas and bounded to the top middle of the penalty area.
Kohinor was able to block Edward Benitez's initial shot, but Waterman pounced on the rebound from close range to double the lead.
Waterman completed the scoring in the 68th, heading Davis' cross two steps outside the six-yard box, and putting it through the hands and legs of Kohinor.
The three goals was one more than Panama scored combined in its two qualifying matches.
Panama is looking to return to the World Cup for the fourth time, after qualifying for the 2003, 2005 and 2007 championships, but failing to reach the CONCACAF finals in 2009.
