HOUSTON, Texas. – Familiar foes Panama and Honduras meet for the fifth time at the Concacaf Gold Cup with the top spot in Group D up for grabs on Saturday night at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Honduras has the slight edge in head-to-head victories at the Gold Cup with two to Panama’s one. The two sides have drawn once, which came as a 1-1 stalemate in their previous encounter in the tournament on July 10, 2015.
This will be the first Gold Cup encounter between the two countries in this decade. Prior to their 2015 meeting, the two met in 1993, 2005, and 2007.
The two sides will meet for the second time in the competition on Texas soil. Their first encounter in 1993, a 5-1 Honduras win, took place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Samuel Caballero scored the lone goal in Honduras’ 1-0 win in 2005 which took place in Miami’s Orange Bowl Stadium. Panama took the last win in the series, a 3-2 victory at Giants Stadium in 2007.
Maynor Figueroa, if he makes an appearance against Panama, can surpass Jaime Penedo as the player to play the most encounters between the two nations at the Gold Cup. Figueroa captained Honduras in their 4-0 victory over Grenada.
For Thomas Christiansen’s side, five players on the roster have faced Honduras in prior editions of the tournament: Harold Cummings, Adolfo Machado, Gabriel Torres, Alberto Quintero and Armando Cooper.
As was the case in their previous four encounters, Panama and Honduras will face once again in the group stage -- with the top spot up for grabs for the victor. Honduras currently leads the group with three points while Panama is in second place with a point thanks to their 3-3 draw with Qatar.
Grenada and Qatar will face off earlier in the day for a Group D matchday that will take place in front of a sold-out crowd in Houston.
