CONCACAF Gold Cup: Costa Rica vs Panama Odds
Central American Foes Face Off
Fifth Meeting of Last Two Years
Costa Rica and Panama will meet next Monday to open their respective Gold Cup campaigns. As two of the highest-ranked CONCACAF teams, this has the potential to be one of the best matches of the group stage. The Central American rivals are both aiming for the knockout stage. Costa Rica and Panama have frequently made runs in this competition and have the personnel to do so again. Considering that, we’ll run through the Costa Rica vs. Panama odds.
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Costa Rica vs Panama
Costa Rica vs Panama 
Date, time:
Location: DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, USA
Head-to-Head
Panama have had the upper hand vs. Costa Rica in recent times. Los Canaleros won both recent meetings in the CONCACAF Nations League and have won five of the last seven. These 2023 Gold Cup teams last met in the Gold Cup in 2017. On the day, Costa Rica downed Panama 1-0 in the quarterfinals. Notably, nine of the last ten meetings finished with two or fewer goals. This is also the fifth meeting in the previous two years.
Crossroads for Costa Rica
- Next Match: Jun. 30 vs. El Salvador
Costa Rica have qualified for the knockout stage in their last 12 Gold Cup appearances. Los Ticos last won the CONCACAF Championship in 1989 but have frequently made deep runs in the tournament. In both 2019 and 2021, though, they lost in the quarterfinals. Canada knocked out Costa Rica 2-0 in 2021.
Since then, there have been big ups and downs for Costa Rica. They won just one of their first seven World Cup qualifiers but still managed to bounce back and qualify for Qatar 2022. There, Costa Rica opened their tournament with a 7-0 loss to Spain. Los Ticos picked up a win in their next match over Group E winners but exited early with a loss to Germany in their final match.
Legendary Costa Rican player Bryan Ruiz retired after the World Cup. With some younger talents now on the roster, Costa Rica is in a transitional period. However, Goalkeeper Keylor Navas is still aroundKeylor Navas is still around, though, and he helped Nottingham Forest stay in the Premier League. Given they’ve struggled vs. Panama recently, Costa Rica vs Panama odds price the Ticos as underdogs here.
Panama Disappoint at Nations League Finals
- Next Match: Jun. 30 vs. Martinique
Panama did well to reach the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. Los Canaleros were one of just three unbeaten sides in the group stage and didn’t concede a single goal. In their first appearance in the Nations League semifinals, they fell 2-0 to Canada. Panama had a chance to go home with a bronze medal in the third-place game vs. Mexico but lost 1-0.
So, Panama failed to score a goal vs. two of CONCACAF’s best teams. Regardless, in a group with Costa Rica, Martinique, and El Salvador, Panama are favored by the Gold Cup odds to make the knockout stage. Their toughest game comes first, but they have kept five clean sheets in their last six matches vs. Costa Rica.
This is also an experienced Panama side, as seven players have over 50 caps. Panama lacks a proven goalscorer at the international level, as none of their active players have scored over 10 international goals. Michael Murillo and Cecilio Waterman are two attacking players to watch, though.
Match Analysis and Odds
The Costa Rica vs Panama odds certainly reflect Costa Rica’s recent struggles vs. their neighbors. Costa Rica are +180 underdogs for this match in the Miami area. In this pick’em, Los Ticos display -105 odds to cover the spread, while Panama pk shows -125 odds.
Panama also sit at +160 odds to get a sixth win in their last eight matches vs. Costa Rica. The Ticos have struggled to create opportunities vs. Panama, with just three shots on target combined in the last two head-to-head matchups.
A draw wouldn’t be a bad start for either team, as they’ll be favorites to win their remaining matches. A deadlock comes in at +200 odds, and the over/under goal total is two. None of the last six meetings have finished with more than two goals, but over two goals are priced at -130 odds, nonetheless.
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