As far as major soccer tournaments go, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is one of the more forgiving. After all, only 4 of the 12 starting teams get eliminated in the group stage, and with a couple of punching bag teams in this tournament, the odds of moving on were pretty good for most teams entering this tournament.
The group stage is now over, which means it’s on to the quarter-finals, which is where things start to get a little more serious. The benefit of doing well in the group stage was a more manageable draw in the next round, and it’s fair to say that Costa Rica have a tough match-up ahead of them despite winning their group, as they will have to face a very talented young Panama side on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
While some nations used this tournament as a way to try out some fringe players, Costa Rica came to the US with a full squad and a real willingness to win it all. They have not been at their best in this tournament, but did enough to top Group A, although they were pushed to the limit by a surprisingly good Canada squad.
Panama breezed through the group stage, and were perhaps a little unfortunate not to win their group, which went to the US on goal difference. This game looks as though it may well be the best game of the quarter-finals, and while Costa Rica are the soccer betting favorites, you can bet that Panama are not going to go down without a fight.
Costa Rica vs Panama 2017 Gold Cup Free Picks and Game Info
When: Wednesday, July 19 at 6 PM EST Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia TV: FS1 Live Stream: FOX Sports GO FIFA Odds: Costa Rica -½ (+122)Why Bet on Costa Rica?
Despite bringing a very strong squad to the 2017 Gold Cup, Los Ticos have tried to play some of their younger players as well. They got things rolling with a 1-0 win over Honduras, although they were a little lucky to come away with the win in that one. They followed that game up with a 1-1 tie against Canada, which was a result that suited both teams, before closing out the group stage with a comfortable 3-0 win over French Guinea. One thing that Costa Rica have in their favor heading into this game is that they have a lot of players who can stick the ball in the back of the net. The 5 goals that they managed during the group stage were scored by 5 different players, and the addition of Rodney Wallace to the squad has proven to be a real stroke of genius. On the downside, Los Ticos have lost 4 very good players to injury, and while they have all been replaced, their squad has been considerably weakened.Costa Rica CONCACAF Gold Cup Record
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| El Salvador 1963 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| Guatemala 1965 | Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| Honduras 1967 | – | |||||||
| Costa Rica 1969 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| Trinidad and Tobago 1971 | Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Haiti 1973 | – | |||||||
| Mexico 1977 | – | |||||||
| Honduras 1981 | – | |||||||
| 1985 | Third Place | 3rd | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| 1989 | Champions | 1st | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
| United States 1991 | Fourth Place | 4th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| United States Mexico 1993 | Third Place | 3rd | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| United States 1996 | – | |||||||
| United States 1998 | Group Stage | 5th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| United States 2000 | Quarter-Finals | 6th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| United States 2002 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
| United States Mexico 2003 | Fourth Place | 4th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
| United States 2005 | Quarter-Finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| United States 2007 | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| United States 2009 | Semi Final | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 |
| United States 2011 | Quarter-Finals | 5th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| United States 2013 | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| United States Canada 2015 | 7th | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| United States 2017 | – | |||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 18/23 | 87 | 36 | 26 | 25 | 139 | 91 |
Why bet on Panama?
Panama got their 2017 Gold Cup off to an excellent start with a 1-1 tie against a makeshift USA team, and were probably a little unlucky not to get the win. Next up was a gritty 2-1 win over Nicaragua, which Panama followed up with a 3-0 win over Martinique. The Panamanians have done a nice job of spreading out the scoring, but it has been midfielder Miguel Camargo who has been pulling all the strings, scoring once and adding a pair of assists through the 3 games in the group stages. It has been the MLS players on this squad who have done the majority of the damage in attack, and Panama will be looking to those guys to deliver more of the same as an underdog in the quarter-finals.Panama CONCACAF Gold Cup Record
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| United States Mexico 1993 | Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| United States 2005 | Runners-up | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| United States 2007 | Quarter-Finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| United States 2009 | Quarter-Finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| United States 2011 | Semi-Finals | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| United States 2013 | Runners-up | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| United StatesCanada 2015 | Third Place | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| United States 2017 | |||||||
| Total | 3 Titles | 28 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 47 | 43 |
