MIAMI – Panama and Colombia face off in the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America quarterfinals on Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Panama and Colombia meet for the first time in a Copa America match and for the seventh time in an official encounter. Overall, the two nations have met 14 times with Panama winning four times.
Los Canaleros will make their debut in the knockout stage of a Copa America in what is their second appearance in the 108-year-old tournament. Panama finished second in Group C with two victories and one loss.
After starting the tournament with a 3-1 defeat to Uruguay, Panama responded with a 2-1 win over the United States and a 3-1 win over Bolivia.
¡La victoria de Panamá 🇵🇦 que le dio el pase histórico a los Cuartos de Final de Copa América! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/XlHDKy3CS5
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) July 2, 2024
Jose Fajardo leads the Panama scoring list with two goals. Fajardo scored the match-winning goal against the United States and the opening goal against Bolivia.
Cesar Blackman, Eduardo Guerrero, Michael Amir Murillo, and Cesar Yanis have also found the back of the net for the Central Americans. Goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera has eight saves through three games.
Panama is searching to advance to its first Copa America semifinals and fourth in any tournament under head coach Thomas Christiansen. Under the Danish-Spanish coach, Panama reached the Concacaf Nations League Finals twice and the Concacaf Gold Cup Final last year.
Colombia finished first in Group D with a 2-1-0 record. Champions in 2001, Colombia has advanced to the quarterfinals for the 15th time.
Daniel Muñoz leads Colombia with two goals scored. Jhon Cordoba, Luis Diaz, Jefferson Lerma, and Davinson Sanchez have also scored for Los Cafeteros.
James Rodriguez leads the team with three assists. Rodriguez has also been named player of the week for two of the three matchdays in the group stage.
If Panama and Colombia draw after regular time, a penalty shoot-out will decide who advances to the semifinals. The winner will face Uruguay or Brazil on July 10 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Head-To-Head
Panama and Colombia will face each other for the first time in history in the CONMEBOL Copa America. Panama advanced to the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group C, which included the United States, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Colombia topped Group D against Brazil, Costa Rica, and Paraguay.
In 14 encounters, Colombia has 10 wins and 4 losses.
Out of these 14 matches, 6 have been official (4 in the Central American and Caribbean Games and 2 in the Concacaf Gold Cup).
Colombia's victories in official matches against Panama were (4-2) on February 14, 1938 (goals by Roberto Meléndez x2 and Julio Torres x2 for Colombia, and James Anderson x2 for Panama), (2-1) on December 20, 1946 (with goals by Luis González and Carlos Arango for Colombia, and Carlos Martínez for Panama), (2-1) on March 13, 1954 (with goals by Silvio Dueñas and Fernando Rengifo for Colombia, and José de Bello for Panama), and (0-3) on March 6, 1970 (with goals by Armando Torres, Elkin Velásquez, and Víctor Campaz).
The last 2 times they faced each other in official tournaments were in the Concacaf Gold Cup, with two victories for Panama (0-1) on July 6, 2005 (goal by Luis Tejada) and (3-2) on July 21, 2005 (goals by Ricardo Phillips x2 and Jorge Dely Valdés for Panama, and Jairo Pinto with two penalties for Colombia). With the latter victory, Panama advanced to the tournament's semifinals.
In the last 9 encounters between friendlies and official matches between these two teams, Colombia has 7 wins and two losses (both in the Concacaf Gold Cup).
All-Time Series: 14 games
10 wins Colombia
0 draws
4 wins Panama
27 goals Colombia
17 goals Panama