The selection of Panama achieved a historic qualification to the quarterfinals of the America Cup by beating 1-3 Boliviawho left the tournament for the fourth consecutive time without scoring in the group stage. Universidad Católica de Ecuador striker José Fajardo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, Eduardo Guerrero added to the lead in the 79th and César Yanis sealed the tie in the 91st. Striker Bruno Miranda temporarily tied the game for Bolivia in the 69th minute and scored the only goal for the Verde in the tournament.
Panama advanced as second in the group with 6 points, beating the United States, the host team, which it beat in the second round by 2-1. In the first minutes it was evident that the greatest urgency to score was Panama, which, in its eagerness to speed up some plays, was not very fine and had some doubts in the attack.
Antonio Carlos Zago’s men had a dangerous chance in the third minute through a combination between youngster Miguelito Terceros and the experienced Carmelo Algarañaz, although the play was ruled out for being offside. In the 12th minute, Jovani Welch tried a shot that lacked enough power and ended up in the hands of Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
The long-awaited opening for the Canaleros came in the 22nd minute, with a header from Cristian Martínez for Fajardo to score with his right foot. The mostly young Bolivia that Zago bet on did not let up despite being down on the scoreboard and had Terceros as its standard-bearer in the attempts to equalize the score.
Bruno Miranda, Bolivia’s top scorer, between two rivals
Meanwhile, the team led by Spanish-Danish Thomas Christiansen tried to secure a favorable result with some attacks that, however, were not very effective. Nevertheless, Panama went into the break with the relief of the advantage, knowing that in the other match of the group the score was zero.
The Central American team came out on top in the second half and had a first attempt in the 49th minute, with a ball saved by Martínez that Viscarra managed to deflect. The Panamanians pressed harder, but remained imprecise, losing the ball easily and failing to connect to score a second goal that would give them more peace of mind.
Viscarra stopped an attempt by the recently substituted Kahiser Lenis in the 66th minute and three minutes later Panama had a scare due to that wasted opportunity, as Bolivia equalised. Miranda, also recently substituted, broke the Verde’s goal drought, although he had to wait for a VAR check to celebrate.
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The Canaleros breathed again when Guerrero, who had entered the field five minutes earlier, scored the second with a header after an assist from Eric Davis in the 79th minute after a shot from Yanis, who had been on the field for a minute and left the Bolivian goalkeeper hanging, showing the effectiveness of the changes made by Christiansen.
DATA SHEET
1 – Bolivia: Guillermo Viscarra; Luis Haquin, Jose Sagredo, Yomar Rocha (d.63, Bruno Miranda), Hector Cuellar, Marcelo Suarez; Gabriel Villamil (d.63, Adalid Terrazas), Boris Cespedes (d.63, Leonel Justiniano), Ramiro Vaca (d.81, Fernando Saucedo), Miguel Terceros (d.81, Lucas Chavez); and Carmelo Algarañaz
3 – Panama: Orlando Mosquera; Eric Davis, Edgardo Fariña, Jose Cordoba, Michael Murillo (d.46, Kahiser Lenis); Cristian Martinez (d.74, Abdiel Ayarza), Cesar Blackman, Edgar Yoel Barcenas, Jovani Welch (d.90, Cesar Yanis), Carlos Harvey (d.74, Eduardo Guerrero); and Jose Fajardo
Goals: 0-1, Jose Fajardo (m. 22); 1-1, Bruno Miranda (m. 69); 1-2, Eduardo Guerrero (m. 79); 1-3, Cesar Yanis (m. 91)
Referee: Brazilian Edina Alves cautioned Villamil, Murillo and Terrazas
Incidents: Match corresponding to the third date of Group C of the Copa América, played at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, in front of 12,933 spectators. For the first time in the history of the tournament, a refereeing team led by the Brazilian Edina Alves officiated the match.
