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  • Eager-to-please Panama awaits Canada challenge


    Grant

    Regardless of Panama’s place in the grand order of world soccer, Los Canaleros at the very least took a step toward erasing some painful memories on Friday, securing a well-earned 3-1 victory on the road against El Salvador. It was Panama’s first ever victory in the Cuscatlán stadium. The win also proved the team could indeed finish off a close match in the latter stages. Panama has become disturbingly adept at conceding late, most recently in the Copa Centroamericana semifinals against Costa Rica.

    Following that disappointing third-place tournament finish, star keeper Jaime Penedo acknowledged the team’s frustration at missing the final and assured fans the team “was headed for big things.” Conveniently for Penedo, he won’t be around this month to put his money where his mouth is. The LA Galaxy keeper is busy with MLS playoffs, making him one of two notable absences from the Panama squad, along with FC Dallas forward Blas Perez. That ensures a different look at both ends of the field.

    Against El Salvador on Friday, Nicolás "Yuyu" Muñoz lead the attack for Panama while Joseph Calderón started in goal. Muñoz plays his club football in El Salvador and therefore promised not to celebrate if he scored. That chance to stare solemnly at his giddy teammates arrived just twenty-two minutes into the match. Two minutes later midfielder Aníbal Godoy added another and El Salvador could not recover. In terms of what else happened, this Spanish-language report highlights an important save from Calderon in the early going, as well as the many midfield interventions by the pair of Godoy and Gabriel Gomez.

    In an indication of how seriously Gomez is taking these matches, he only made one substitution in the second half. It was a good one, with Roberto Nurse coming on for Munez and scoring the security-blanket goal late in the match.

    Canada will see five changes in the lineup it faces on Tuesday. Perhaps the most notable switch will be up top, where Luis Tejada replaces Muñoz. This is the one Panamanian media and fans are watching. Tejada has 11 goals in 22 appearances so far for Peru's Cesar Vallejo this season but hasn't figured much in Gomez’s plans this year. As for how the Panama manager sees Canada? He said he watched the Colombia match in October and was impressed with Canada's patience and how well they closed down spaces.



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