Canada and Panama meet in a friendly in Toronto during the early hours of Monday morning as they continue to prepare for the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League next month.
Both countries shone in the Copa America this summer, with Canada losing in the semi-finals to Argentina, while Panama made the quarter-finals where they were beaten by Colombia.
Canada were last in action in September when they played twice in four days, first beating USA 2-1 in a friendly before a 0-0 draw against Mexico.
Panama will be aiming to respond to Saturday’s 2-0 friendly defeat against the USA.
- CANADA TO WIN
- UNDER 2.5 GOALS
- JONATHAN DAVID - ANYTIME GOALSCORER
Hosts Can Edge Tight Clash
Canada’s run to the last four of the Copa America underlined their growing international pedigree and they will be out to impress back on home soil when they entertain Panama at BMO Field.
Jesse Marsch’s side were knocked out by eventual winners Argentina in the last four of the Copa and went on to be confirmed in fourth place after going down to Uruguay on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the third-place playoff.
Attention will soon turn to next month’s Nations League quarter-finals but first they face a Panama side that also did well over the summer, progressing to the last eight of the Copa America.
This has the feel of a tight game between two fairly evenly matched teams that sit next to each other in FIFA’s World Rankings, with Panama 37th, one place above Canada.
However, the hosts can edge it after they looked in good shape when securing a creditable goalless draw against Mexico in Texas last month, which followed swiftly on from a 2-1 friendly win over USA.
Panama, in contrast, lost 2-0 to the States on Saturday and while they will be competitive in Toronto, they could be heading for another friendly defeat.
CANADA TO WIN
Goals Could Be At A Premium
In what is expected to be a keenly-contested friendly, the two sides could end up cancelling each other out for large parts.
Canada’s 0-0 draw last time out with Mexico demonstrated their defensive resolve, while Panama kept USA at bay for the first half on Saturday before conceding two goals after the break.
There have not been many goals when these two teams have met in the last couple of years, with Canada winning 2-0 in June 2023 and Panama edging to a 1-0 success in March 2022. Expect a similar story to play out on Tuesday.
UNDER 2.5 GOALS
David Could Be The Difference
Several key members of Canada’s squad ply their trade at club level in Europe, including defensive duo Derek Cornelius and Alphonso Davies, who are with Marseille and Bayern Munich respectively, while striker Jonathan David remains an integral part of the Lille squad and Cyle Larin is at Real Mallorca.
David and Larin are Canada’s joint all-time top goalscorers with 29 apiece and they will both be hoping to add to their fine international tallies against Panama.
David was on target in the win over USA last month and may well be the man to inspire Marsch’s side at BMO Field, as he has been in fine form for Lille this season, scoring five goals in just seven Ligue 1 appearances.
JONATHAN DAVID ANYTIME GOALSCORER
