Panama at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

The teams of Trinidad and Tobago (red) and Panama (white) before their 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarter-Final. Panama won on penalties and finished 3rd in the tournament.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is North America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1989, the tournament was known as CONCACAF Championship.[1] It is currently held every two years.[2] From 1996 to 2005, nations from other confederations have regularly joined the tournament as invitees. In earlier editions, the continental championship was held in different countries, but since the inception of the Gold Cup in 1991, the United States are constant hosts or co-hosts.

From 1973 to 1989, the tournament doubled as the confederation's World Cup qualification. CONCACAF's representative team at the FIFA Confederations Cup was decided by a play-off between the winners of the last two tournament editions in 2015 via the CONCACAF Cup, but was then discontinued along with the Confederations Cup.[3]

Since the inaugural tournament in 1963, the Gold Cup was held 27 times and has been won by seven different nations, most often by Mexico (12 titles).

Although Panama was one of the nine teams which participated in the inaugural 1963 CONCACAF Championship, it took thirty years for them to make a second appearance in a continental tournament. However, they have continually participated since 2005 and consistently reached the knockout stage, playing three finals. They lost to the United States on penalties in 2005 and 0–1 in 2013, and lost 0–1 to Mexico in 2023.

In 2015, Panama finished third in the tournament, drawing all six matches 1–1 after normal time.

Overall record

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
El Salvador 1963 Group stage 6th 4 1 2 1 8 4 Squad
Guatemala 1965 Did not enter
Honduras 1967 Did not qualify
Costa Rica 1969
Trinidad and Tobago 1971 Did not enter
Haiti 1973
Mexico 1977 Did not qualify
Honduras 1981
1985
1989
United States 1991 Did not enter
Mexico United States 1993 Group stage 7th 3 0 1 2 3 8 Squad
United States 1996 Did not qualify
United States 1998
United States 2000
United States 2002
Mexico United States 2003
United States 2005 Runners-up 2nd 6 2 3 1 7 6 Squad
United States 2007 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 1 2 6 7 Squad
United States 2009 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 1 2 7 5 Squad
United States 2011 Semi-finals 3rd 5 2 2 1 7 6 Squad
United States 2013 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 11 4 Squad
Canada United States 2015 Third place 3rd 6 0 5 1 6 7 Squad
United States 2017 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 6 3 Squad
Costa Rica Jamaica United States 2019 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 0 2 6 4 Squad
United States 2021 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 8 7 Squad
Canada United States 2023 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 11 6 Squad
Total Runners-up 12/27 55 19 20 16 86 67

Match overview

Tournament Round Opponent Score Venue
El Salvador 1963 Group stage  El Salvador 1–1 San Salvador
 Guatemala 2–2
 Honduras 0–1
 Nicaragua 5–0
Mexico United States 1993 Group stage  Honduras 1–5 Dallas
 United States 1–2
 Jamaica 1–1
United States 2005 Group stage  Colombia 1–0 Miami
 Trinidad and Tobago 2–2
 Honduras 0–1
Quarter-finals  South Africa 1–1
(5–3 p)
Houston
Semi-finals  Colombia 3–2 East Rutherford
Final  United States 0–0
(1–3 p)
United States 2007 Group stage  Honduras 3–2
 Cuba 2–2
 Mexico 0–1 Houston
Quarter-finals  United States 1–2 Foxboro
United States 2009 Group stage  Guadeloupe 1–2 Oakland
 Mexico 1–1 Houston
 Nicaragua 4–0 Glendale
Quarter-finals  United States 1–2 (a.e.t.) Philadelphia
United States 2011 Group stage  Guadeloupe 3–2 Detroit
 United States 2–1 Tampa
 Canada 1–1 Kansas City
Quarter-finals  El Salvador 1–1
(5–3 p)
Washington, D.C.
Semi-finals  United States 0–1 Houston
United States 2013 Group stage  Mexico 2–1 Pasadena
 Martinique 1–0 Seattle
 Canada 0–0 Denver
Quarter-finals  Cuba 6–1 Atlanta
Semi-finals  Mexico 2–1 Arlington
Final  United States 0–1 Chicago
United States Canada 2015 Group stage  Haiti 1–1 Frisco
 Honduras 1–1 Foxboro
 United States 1–1 Kansas City
Quarter-finals  Trinidad and Tobago 1–1
(6–5 p)
East Rutherford
Semi-finals  Mexico 1–2 (a.e.t.) Atlanta
Third place match  United States 1–1
(3–2 p)
Chester
United States 2017 Group stage  United States 1–1 Nashville
 Nicaragua 2–1 Tampa
 Martinique 3–0 Cleveland
Quarter-finals  Costa Rica 0–1 Philadelphia
Costa Rica Jamaica United States 2019 Group stage  Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 Saint Paul
 Guyana 4–2 Cleveland
 United States 0–1 Kansas City
Quarter-finals  Jamaica 0–1 Philadelphia
United States 2021 Group stage  Qatar 3–3 Houston
 Honduras 2–3
 Grenada 3–1 Orlando
United States Canada 2023 Group stage  Costa Rica 2–1 Fort Lauderdale
 Martinique 2–1 Harrison
 El Salvador 2–2 Houston
Quarter-finals  Qatar 4–0 Arlington
Semi-finals  United States 1–1
(5–4 p)
San Diego
Final  Mexico 0–1 Inglewood

Record players

Gabriel Gómez has appeared in 31 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches.
Blas Pérez has scored 11 goals in 21 matches, stretched over five tournaments.

Panama's record cap holder Gabriel Gómez appeared in seven consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cups. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup however, he officially retired from international football.

He and goalkeeper Jaime Penedo are the only players who were fielded in both of Panama's Gold Cup finals (2005 and 2013).

Rank Player Matches Gold Cups
1 Gabriel Gómez 31 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017
2 Jaime Penedo 28 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015
3 Alberto Quintero 27 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023
4 Román Torres 25 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019
5 Aníbal Godoy 23 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2023
6 Harold Cummings 22 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023
7 Blas Pérez 21 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015
8 Luis Tejada 20 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015
9 Armando Cooper 19 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021
10 Gabriel Torres 18 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021

Top goalscorers

Blas Pérez scored at least once at each of his five tournament participations. In 2013, Gabriel Torres became the first and only Panamanian to win the Golden Boot at a continental championship.

Rank Player Goals Gold Cups
1 Blas Pérez 11 2007 (3), 2009 (3), 2011 (1), 2013 (3) and 2015 (1)
2 Luis Tejada 10 2005 (3), 2009 (2), 2011 (3) and 2015 (2)
3 Gabriel Torres 8 2013 (5), 2017 (2) and 2019 (1)
4 Ismael Díaz 5 2017 (1) and 2023 (4)
5 Gabriel Gómez 3 2009 (1) and 2011 (2)
Eric Davis 3 2019 (1) and 2021 (2)
Yoel Bárcenas 3 2019 (1) and 2023 (2)

Awards and records

Team awards

Individual awards

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Gold Cup 101: What it is, why it matters, and how to follow along this summer"". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. ^ "About the CONCACAF Gold Cup". goldcup.org. Gold Cup. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  3. ^ ""Playoff Match between USA and Mexico [...]"". concacaf.com. Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.