In Group C of the Copa América, two teams that are considered to be the favorites to qualify for the tournament go head-to-head, with a do-or-die battle between Costa Rica and Panama on the horizon. Costa Rica's recent poor form, coupled with Nottingham Forest's goalkeeper Keylor Navas being unable to play due to injury, has undoubtedly dealt a fatal blow to Costa Rica's defense. Panama, on the other hand, finished third in the recently concluded Central and North American and Caribbean Nations League, and has won five, drawn one and lost one of its last seven matches against Costa Rica, which is an impressive record, so this is a small handicap of half to support Panama on the handicap. LIVE INFORMATION: TVB myTV SUPER will bring you live coverage of the match on Tuesday at 8.30am.
This matchup was certainly an old rivalry for both sides. The two teams were in the same group in the previous CONCACAF A-League, and this tournament was like a preview of the UEFA Nations League, and elevated the national team's warm-up game to a real tournament. Panama won both matches against Costa Rica to advance to the final week and ultimately finish third, with five wins, one draw and one loss in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Costa Rica head coach Luis Ferrando has been questioned about his selection strategy, having picked 100 players since taking over, but only four players have more than 60 national team appearances to their name in this selection, while 16 players have fewer than 10 national team appearances. The players have not been able to adapt and familiarize themselves with the tactics, and apart from last year's pre-World Cup warm-up match against Nigeria, the team has never been able to score in the first half in any of its seven subsequent matches, losing five of them, and the absence of Keylor Navas has added to the woes and further damaged the strength of the side.
