No one wants to play in a third place game when a better performance could have seen these teams play for the Concacaf Nations League title, but in a strange turn of events, each team needs a win for different reasons. Things couldn’t get much worse for Mexico, just five games into Diego Cocca’s tenure, failing to establish a line-up and conceding five goals against the United States in their two games played to date. El Tri has been on a slow spiral for some time, but Cocca is accelerating it as their closest rivals continue to get ahead of them.
For Panama, the team achieves important results and did not play badly against Canada. but were simply unable to take risks when necessary. If Mexico allows similar opportunities, it could be a chance for Panama to get upset that will allow them to push past teams like Costa Rica in the ever-changing Concacaf hierarchy.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
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How to watch and opportunities
- Date: Sunday 18 June | Time: 6 p.m. ET
- Place: Allegiant Stadium — Las Vegas, Nevada
- TV: CBS Sports Golazo Network | Live stream: Paramount+
- Chances: Panama +470; Draw +270; Mexico -160 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Panama: Eric Davis is suspended for this match after being sent off in the 89th minute against Canada, but Panama still has chances against a team from Mexico who failed to shoot on goal against the United States. Creating chances was no problem for Panama against Canada, which will only give the team confidence against a struggling team from Mexico.
Mexico: While it’s weird that Mexico is under pressure to win a third place, there’s always pressure on Mexico to win every game and that’s only been compounded by their struggles under Cocca. Lose this match and Mexico could have another coach for the Gold Cup after just hiring it. Without Cesar Montes and Gerardo Arteaga, Cocca will have to make further changes to an already uncertain line-up, putting Mexico’s defense at greater risk.
Prediction
Mexico will not be able to get out of first gear against a Panama team that is getting better by the day, leading to a disruption in the game. Choose: Panama 1, Mexico 0