Neither Costa Rica or Panama brought their best attacking game to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Pretty passes and big chances were seriously scarce in their Gold Cup quarterfinal matchup, with a very bad own goal settling proceedings and sending Los Ticos through by a 1-0 score.
Costa Rica vs. Panama: Final score 1-0, own goal sends Ticos into Gold Cup semifinals
Anibal Godoy got away with a penalty in the first half, but later cost Panama the match in the second.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The biggest event of the first half was a missed call by the referee. Panama’s Anibal Godoy pulled Giancarlo González down in the box during a set piece in the 23rd minute, but the ref didn’t spot it.
Panama’s best moment of the match came in the 73rd minute, when they forced Costa Rica goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton into two big saves. The initial save on Gaby Torres was a stunner, and Pemberton went on to stop Torres’ slightly weaker rebound effort as well.
Though he got away with committing a foul in the box in the first half, karma eventually came for Godoy. He was the man who scored the decisive goal, into his own net in the 77th minute. The header was so good, it looked like he was trying to do it on purpose.
Once they had the lead, Costa Rica were able to start playing a very defensive game, and they didn’t have much of a problem holding on. Panama had eight shots before they went behind, but just one attempt in the final 13 minutes, and none on target.
Los Ticos will now await the winner of Wednesday’s late game between the United States and El Salvador.
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