MIAMI, Florida – Panama’s quest for a first ever Concacaf trophy will take center stage next week at the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The two-time runners-up of the Concacaf Gold Cup (2005, 2013) reached the CNLF for the first time after topping Group B of League A over rivals Costa Rica and Martinique.
The Canaleros posted a 3W-1D-0L record in those four games, outscoring their opponents 8-0. Perhaps most impressive was the 1-0 final matchday victory in Costa Rica, which secured Panama’s place in the CNLF.
Panama was the only team across League A, League B and League C not to concede a goal in their group stage campaign.
That strong defensive effort improved Panama’s overall record in CNL competition to 4W-1D-3L, with 13 goals scored and nine conceded.
Thus far in the 2022-23 CNL, Panama have gotten contributions from all over the field. Edgar Barcenas led the way with two goals, both coming in the 5-0 home win against Martinique, while the likes of Gabriel Torres, Ismael Diaz, Cecilio Waterman, Fidel Escobar and Jose Fajardo also got on the scoresheet.
Torres is Panama’s all-time scoring leader in CNL play with three goals and is the only Panama player to have scored in both editions of the CNL, in 2019-20 and 2022-23. Meanwhile, Barcenas has the most goal involvements (4), with two career CNL goals and two assists.
As usual, Panama relied on a stable of hard workers in midfield, among them Anibal Godoy, who completed 177 passes in the 2022-23 CNL group stage, while Cristian Martinez had the most ball recoveries with six.
Panama can also turn to two experienced goalkeepers to man the posts in Las Vegas in the form of Orlando Mosquera or Luis Mejia. Mosquera has six career CNL saves, while Mejia has five.
