In Orlando, Florida, Panama defeated Bolivia 3-1 and secured the second spot in Group C, advancing to the quarter-finals of Copa America. This result also led to the elimination of tournament hosts, the United States, who suffered a 1-0 defeat against group winners Uruguay.
Panama, in their second appearance at the Copa America, secured a victory that propelled them to second place with six points. This was three points more than the U.S. and marked their first qualification to the knockout stage in the tournament.
With a total of nine points, Uruguay concluded their performance.
The first goal for Panama was scored by Jose Fajardo, and in the later stages of the game, substitutes Eduardo Guerrero and Cesar Yanis secured a victory by scoring. Bolivia’s only goal was scored by Bruno Miranda.
According to Panama’s manager Thomas Christiansen, football is a constant struggle, but today’s game held a high level of importance. He also noted that even with a victory, there was still no guarantee of advancing to the quarter-finals after the first goal was scored.
There were moments when our team’s performance declined as Bolivia took control of the game and managed to score. As a result, we began to feel more tense and nervous.
However, we responded promptly. Our team members managed to conquer those chances and the replacements had a significant impact.
In the tournament, Bolivia was in desperate need of a victory to keep their chances of advancing alive. However, it was Panama who managed to score first in the 22nd minute thanks to Cristian Martinez’s assist to Fajardo.
The striker, who is 30 years old, skillfully managed to control Martinez’s header inside the penalty area. He then allowed the ball to bounce before executing a perfect volley that left Bolivia’s goalkeeper, Guillermo Viscarra, with no chance to save it.
In the 69th minute, Bolivia managed to level the score by penetrating Panama’s midfield and defence. Ramiro Vaca successfully passed the ball to Miranda, who skillfully shot it past the goalkeeper.
In the 78th minute of the match, Bolivia came close to scoring when Panama’s goalkeeper, Orlando Mosquera, left the goal area. However, the Panama defence quickly retreated and blocked Miguel Terceros’s attempt from a distance.
After a minute, Panama regained their grasp on qualification with Davis delivering a cross from the left and Guerrero scoring his first goal for the national team with a glancing header.
In the added minute, Yanis secured the win by unleashing a powerful shot with his right foot, finding the top right corner of the net. This caused an outburst of jubilation at the Inter&Co Stadium as he was sent through towards the goal.
As Group D concludes their matches on Tuesday, Panama eagerly awaits to discover their quarter-final opponents. However, Bolivia’s journey in the tournament comes to an end after suffering three consecutive defeats, with a total of 10 goals conceded and only one goal scored.
According to Bolivia coach Antonio Carlos Zago, it is essential to utilize all the knowledge and experiences gained during the Copa America tournament.
In this game, there is no room for error, but unfortunately, we made some mistakes today. Therefore, it is important for us to rectify those errors.
It is crucial for us to keep working diligently and maintain faith that there will be improvement overall. This will ultimately result in a stronger and more competitive national team in the future.
