MIAMI, Florida – A match-up between first and second in the Final Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying is not something that happens very often, yet that will be the case on Wednesday when Panama welcome in Mexico to the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Panama.

Mexico are first in the table with two wins through the first two matchdays. El Tricolor downed Jamaica 2-1 at home on Matchday 1 thanks in part to Henry Martin’s game-winning goal in the 89. They then followed that up with a gutsy 1-0 win at Costa Rica on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Panama used a solid defense to secure a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica in their opener, and dusted off their scoring boots on Sunday in an impressive 3-0 win at Jamaica.

While Mexico have an overwhelming 15W-5D-2L advantage in the overall series between the two, their recent history suggests that a Concacaf classic could be in store on Wednesday night.

Panama may be winless against Mexico at home in WCQ, but the last two meetings in the previous cycles on Panamanian soil have ended in scoreless draws.

Considering that Mexico have barely squeezed out one-goal victories in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca against the Canaleros in the previous two cycles (2-1 in 2013 and 1-0 in 2017), all signs point toward another tight affair on Wednesday.

The history of this rivalry is also dotted by some of the biggest names to have suited up for Concacaf nations in recent FIFA World Cups, including Mexico FW Raul Jimenez, who is the co-leader in all-time goals scored against Panama with three.

Jimenez scored perhaps the most memorable goal in the history of this series, when he fired in an overhead kick in the waning minutes to earn Mexico a dramatic 2-1 win on Matchday 9 of the 2014 cycle.

Meanwhile, Blas Perez, Gabriel Torres, Roman Torres and Luis Tejada are the co-leaders for Panama in goal scored against Mexico with two each.

Gabriel Torres famously notched a brace in a 2-1 win for Panama over Mexico in the opening match of the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup group stage, before Roman Torres and Perez teamed up to score in Panama’s 2-1 win against Mexico in that same tournament’s semifinal.

The past decade has seen this international rivalry grow by leaps and bounds and it is fitting that these two sides will have a chance to determine who sits in first place at the end of the September FIFA window.