MIAMI – The 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America continues with Concacaf nation Panama facing fifteen-time champions Uruguay in Group C on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Panama will participate in the Copa America for only the second occasion after debuting at the 2016 edition. Since then, Los Canaleros made their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 2018 and are looking for a return in 2026 after an undefeated start to World Cup Qualifying.
Head coach Thomas Christiansen has taken the squad on an upward trajectory since his appointment in 2020. Under the Danish-Spanish coach, the Panamanians finished runners-up at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup and have made consecutive appearances at the Concacaf Nations League Finals.
Adalberto Carrasquilla is the reigning Gold Cup Golden Ball winner and one of the players to watch in the tournament. Eric Davis, Yoel Barcenas, Fidel Escobar, Cecilio Waterman round out a core of experienced players who look to lift Panama’s stature during the tournament.
Eduardo Anderson and Fidel Escobar, members of Costa Rican champions Deportivo Saprissa, are also part of the Panama team and recent competitors in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Goalkeeper Luis Mejia, a member of Nacional’s squad in the Uruguayan first division, will be a familiar face for the opposition.
Panama aims to continue ascent at 2024 Copa America
¡No te pierdas a los Canaleros en esta Copa América! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xV44ZhRO9n
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) June 19, 2024
Uruguay will look to end a tie with Argentina for the sole title of all-time Copa America winners. It will also look to reclaim the trophy after last winning it in the 2011 edition.
La Celeste is managed by Marcelo Bielsa following the Argentine’s appointment last year. Bielsa will coach his third Copa America after being on the sidelines with Argentina during the 1999 and 2004 editions, reaching the final in the latter, and will look to lift the trophy for the first time.
The Uruguay squad will feature players familiar to the Concacaf Champions Cup followers. Luis Suarez of Inter Miami CF and Maximiliano Araujo of Toluca recently participated in their debut campaigns, while Brian Rodriguez and Sebastian Caceres helped Club America to the semifinals.
Other important players that will suit up for Uruguay include Liverpool forward Darwin Nuñez, Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, and Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez.
- Panama vs Uruguay
They will face each other for the first time in official matches in any competition.
Uruguay won all 4 matches of the series.
The last time they met was in an international friendly in June 2022, a 5x0 victory for Uruguay with goals by Edinson Cavani (39’, 48’ penalty), Nicolás de la Cruz (58’), Maxi Gómez (68’), and Diego Rossi (76’).
In the 4 matches that Panama played against Uruguay, they only managed to score one goal. It was more than 71 years ago in Group 1 of the Pan American Championship on April 6, 1952, in a 1x6 defeat, the goal was scored by Carlos Martínez 93', and for Uruguay, Julio Abbadie scored (6’,14’,32’), Julio César Britos (64’), Félix Tejada (77’), and Walter Loureiro (85’).
All-Time Series: 4 games
0 wins Panama
0 draws
4 wins Uruguay
1 goal Panama
15 goals Uruguay