In the third round of the Copa America group stage, Panama and Bolivia faced off on July 2 for the right to qualify for the tournament. The match is crucial for both sides, especially for Panama, who must win all three points to secure their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
At the beginning of the game, Panama team showed a strong desire to attack, they through accurate passes and tacit cooperation constantly threatened the Bolivian goal. In the 22nd minute, Panama's offense finally blossomed. Cristian Martinez sent a precise assist from the left side of the field, Fajardo received the ball in the penalty area, calmly stopped the ball and turned around, and then fired a shot straight to the corner of the net, which helped Panama break the deadlock first and take a 1-0 lead.
Despite the scoreline, Bolivia didn't give up, and they stepped up their attack in the second half, hoping to equalize the score. In the 69th minute, Bolivia finally seized the opportunity, Ramiro Baca sent a precise direct ball from the left side, Bruno Miranda quickly inserted into the box and pushed the goal to equalize the score 1-1, this goal made the situation tense, and the two teams were back to the same starting line again.
However, Panama did not get discouraged and quickly adjusted their tactics to continue to strengthen their offense. In the 79th minute, Panama took the lead again, Eric Davis sent a precise pass from the left side of the road, Eduardo Guerrero jumped up high in the penalty area and scored a header to make the score 2-1, which not only showed Panama's team tacit understanding, but also their calmness and boldness in critical moments.
The Panamanians did not let their guard down in the injury time and continued to keep the pressure on the Bolivian goal. In the first minute of injury time, Panama launched another attack, substitute Yanis received a pass from a teammate near the penalty area line, and then shot the ball straight to the corner of the goal, Bolivia's goalkeeper, although he tried to save, but he could not do anything to save the day. Yanis' goal sealed the victory, and Panama beat Bolivia 3-1.
In the end, with this crucial win, Panama managed to advance to the knockout rounds as the second-placed team in the group with six points from two wins and one loss in the group stage.
