Action from the World Cup qualifier between visiting Panama (white jersey) and Costa Rica on June 8, 2017, in San Jose, Costa Rica. (Photo: Imagenes en Costa Rica)
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – For the first time in its World Cup Qualifying history, Panama (1W-3D-1L, 6 points) earned a point at Costa Rica (2-2-1, 8) thanks to a scoreless draw on Thursday night.
Head coach Hernan Dario Gomez hailed his team’s execution, but knows that for the accomplishment to have lasting value on the road to Russia 2018, it must be followed up with a win on Tuesday against visiting Honduras.
“To get a point here is important because of the opponent and we showed some important things,” said the 61-year-old Colombian after the game. “The draw for us here is good and Panama’s performance against this opponent shows that it is as strong as them,”
The Panamanians currently occupy fourth in the CONCACAF Hexagonal table, but could jump to second by topping Honduras and Costa Rica losing to Trinidad & Tobago.
“If we do not get the three points in the Rommel Fernandez, this point serves nothing,” Gomez finished. “We are going to face a Honduras that is always strong, that is a World Cup team and it will be an exciting match.”
In their previous WCQ meeting, Panama earned a 1-0 win over host Honduras on Fidel Escobar’s first-half goal.
