Avery poor Qatar team succumbed to Panama in the first quarter-finals match of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday afternoon. Ismael Diaz scored a second-half hat-trick in less than 10 minutes to earn his team the victory.
Panama will take on the winner of USMNT vs. Canada in the semi-finals stage. Their elite ball possession and counter attacks, plus a solid goalkeeper in Orlando Mosquera, is a danger to any opponent.
Mosquera, 28, was only bothered once against Qatar at the end of the first half with a shot from Bassam Al Rawi.
Panama broke the deadlock in the 19th minute through a Joel Barcenas header, which left Qatar goalkeeper Salah Zakaria with no chance at getting the save.
The goal was reviewed by VAR for a possible offsides position, but was validated in the end by Mexican referee Cesar Ramos.
Qatar within reach at halftime vs. Panama
Qatar made changes for the second half, which paid off for a few minutes, reaching the Panamanian goal with more pressure than in the opening 45 minutes.
Ten minutes into the second half, however, Diaz scored on Zakaria with a wide-open shot to make it 2-0. He was assisted teammate Jose Fajardo.
Avery poor Qatar team succumbed to Panama in the first quarter-finals match of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday afternoon. Ismael Diaz scored a second-half hat-trick in less than 10 minutes to earn his team the victory.
Panama will take on the winner of USMNT vs. Canada in the semi-finals stage. Their elite ball possession and counter attacks, plus a solid goalkeeper in Orlando Mosquera, is a danger to any opponent.
Mosquera, 28, was only bothered once against Qatar at the end of the first half with a shot from Bassam Al Rawi.
Panama broke the deadlock in the 19th minute through a Joel Barcenas header, which left Qatar goalkeeper Salah Zakaria with no chance at getting the save.
The goal was reviewed by VAR for a possible offsides position, but was validated in the end by Mexican referee Cesar Ramos.
Qatar within reach at halftime vs. Panama
Qatar made changes for the second half, which paid off for a few minutes, reaching the Panamanian goal with more pressure than in the opening 45 minutes.
Ten minutes into the second half, however, Diaz scored on Zakaria with a wide-open shot to make it 2-0. He was assisted teammate Jose Fajardo.
Eight minutes later, Diaz again found the back of the net, and made it 4-0 a few possessions later.
Panama continues to hunt the fifth goal, but were unable to do so, especially since the head coach made a handful of substitutions to give his stars some rest ahead of semis. Follow Mexico vs. Costa Rica right here on the MARCA English LIVE play-by-play.
Source : Marca
