Panama: Panama beat Curaçao 2-1 on Saturday, a difficult result they will have to defend next week as a visitor in the second leg if they are to advance to the eighth final of CONCACAF towards the 2022 World Cup.
For their part, El Salvador beat St Kitts and Nevis 4-0 away, while Canada won the minimum in their visit to Haiti 1-0, results that leave these teams in better shape to seek to close the pass on Tuesday. As a local in the quarter-finals.
Midfielder Alberto Quintero opened the scoring for Panama with a beautiful goal in the 55th minute and controlled the ball in the area and sent it with a corner kick between two defenders into the net. Cecilio Waterman, who entered the sequel, increased the count to 77 after a pass from Michael Murillo, but four minutes into the end of regulation time came the valuable opponent from Rangelo Ganga who netted by taking advantage of a poor pass into his own net. Auctioned by goalkeeper Luis Mejia. Seconds before a header from Ganga was well kept away by the local goalkeeper.
“It tastes bittersweet. Despite the win, we go to Curaçao with another possibility,” said Panama coach, Spaniard-Danish Thomas Christiansen. However, “I told the boys that 2-0 is the most dangerous result for a duo.”
Curaçao, the 2017 Caribbean champions with mostly active players on teams in Europe, hosts Panama on Tuesday, which is eager to play its second World Cup finals after reaching its historic qualifiers for Russia 2018.
The Caribbean, which is two places above the Panamanians in the FIFA rankings and is led by strategist and former Dutch national team player Patrick Kluibert, is seeking its first appearance in the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers.
For its part, El Salvador achieved the victory thanks to the double of striker Tony Rojamas who scored in the 3rd and 27th minutes. Joshua Perez, at the age of 20, and Darwin Sirin, from the penalty area at 64, made the other two goals.
Rojamas has scored eight goals so far in the process and was among El Salvador’s four best scorers in World Cup qualifying matches.
Central America, which has not played in a World Cup final since 1982, hit the tiny island of Antilles hard, which was a big surprise by qualifying for the second round in a category where favorites Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated.
Canada, for its part, has had to sweat the shirt a lot more on Haitian soil. Their hard-fought victory came thanks to striker Kyle Larrain’s 14th minute goal. The North American team hasn’t gone to the World Cup since 1986, and in this confrontation emerged as a candidate to go far, backed by figures such as striker Jonathan David, Lille’s Ligue 1 champion, and midfielder Alphonso Davies, Bayern. Munich, the current king of the Bundesliga.
The winners of the triple series will join an octagonal match awaiting the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras, which will distribute the three direct tickets from the region to the 2022 World Cup and a ticket to an intercontinental playoff. . This tour will take place between September and March.
