PREVIEW – The unbeaten CanMNT will face the impressive Panama side on Wednesday, October. 13. Canada is coming from a less than inspiring tie in Jamaica while Panama got an impressive win at home against the U.S. Both teams are only separated by a point before Wednesday’s game.
Unbeaten CanMNT will play a critical home game against Panama
CanMNT
The CanMNT will play their third BMO Field game in the Octagon on Wednesday. This is what CanMNT head coach John Herdman said about the last game against Jamaica according to Peter Galindo of MLS Soccer:
“That first 45 minutes, I thought Canada were in control, but we never really threatened them at the levels that we can,” added Herdman. In the second half, we had some good control, but they are always going to catch you at set-pieces, counter-attacks and we had to be resilient in some moments.”
Canada earn important point in 0:0 draw in World Cup Qualifying #CANMNT #WCQ22 #ForCanada https://t.co/6gPhcQvbl8
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) October 11, 2021
Both teams had chances to win the game on Sunday. However, both teams also had trouble passing the ball and had no shots on target in the first half. It was not Canada’s best performance, but they still had chances to win the game. Also, there will be three players coming back. These are Tajon Buchanan, Steven Vitória, and Richie Laryea. After getting yellow accumulation in the Mexico game, they all did not play against Jamaica. Buchanan and Laryea will be needed for creating scoring chances while Vitória was probably Canada’s best defender against Mexico.
Panama
After losing on the road to El Salvador, Panama defeated the U.S. 1-0 at home. This was an impressive win as they gave the U.S. their first Octagon loss. Furthermore, Panama moves into third in the Octagon. They are tied with the U.S. in points but have a worse goal differential. This is what coach Thomas Christiansen said about Panama’s performance according to The News 24.
“All the victories are important, and more after the setback we had against El Salvador, to return to the way we returned to a great rival such as the United States,” stressed the Spanish-Danish coach.
#CanMNT's Alistair Johnston on Nashville teammate (and Panama captain) Anibal Godoy: "He's got the nickname El Samurai for a reason… He's very good at the Concacaf thing."
— Charlie O'Connor-Clarke (@charliejclarke) October 12, 2021
Panama was the better team against the U.S. USA had trouble generating scoring chances and did not have a shot on goal. This is while Panama converted on one of their four shots on goal. It was a well-deserved win and a great way to come back after losing to El Salvador 1-0. Nashville SC midfielder Anibal Godoy was the one who scored the goal.
Game Overview and Predictions
ADEKUGBE REACTION 🎙
"We're disappointed not to take all three points, but it's a clean sheet. We're unbeaten in five in this group and we have to bring the energy to BMO Field now on Wednesday."#CANMNT #WCQ22 #ForCanada pic.twitter.com/1ZtpSp0P8X
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) October 11, 2021
Panama is on a high. However, they will face an unbeaten Canadian team. Expect Canada to generate more scoring chances than they did in Kingston, Jamaica. This is especially true when Canada will have the fans on their side. Christensen also mentioned the travel from Panama to BMO Field being quite far, which could affect the outcome of the game according to The News 24.
CanMNT 1 – Panama 0
The game will take place on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET and it will be shown on Sportsnet and OneSoccer.
Photo credit: Done by Canada Soccer on October 6, 2021.
