Honduras beats Panama in shootout to reach Gold Cup semis
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Pineda scored the decisive penalty shot as Honduras beat Panama in a shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night.
Honduras advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, where it will face the winner of Saudi Arabia and Mexico. It's the first time Honduras has made the Gold Cup semis since 2013.
Honduras struggled to generate many scoring opportunities until coming alive late in the second half. Los Catrachos evened the scored in the 82nd minute when Anthony Lozano deflected a shot from Carlos Pineda into the corner of the net following a corner kick.
Both teams made four out of five shots in the initial round of kicks. Honduras had a chance to win with its fifth attempt, but Orlando Mosquera made a diving stop on Lozano's shot.
Panama's Eduardo Guerrero sailed the next penalty kick over the net, giving Honduras another chance to win. This time, Pineda took advantage, burying his shot into the bottom left corner to give Honduras the 5-4 shootout win.
Panama dominated possession in the first half, but couldn't break through until Cristian Martinez was fouled by Honduras' Edwin Rodriguez in the 44th minute just inside the penalty area. Ismael Diaz took the shot and calmly scored his Gold Cup-leading sixth goal, finding the bottom left corner of the net to give Panama a 1-0 lead.
Panama scored 10 goals in the three games during the group stage, including eight in the first half. With his sixth goal, Díaz passed Gabriel Torres as the Panamanian player with the most goals in a single Gold Cup.
Panama is a three-time Gold Cup runner-up, losing twice in the championship game to the U.S. (2005, 2013) and once to Mexico in 2023. Honduras was runner-up in the inaugural tournament in 1991, losing to the U.S.
It was the first knockout round meeting between the two countries in the Gold Cup.
Panama advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals after winning Group C, beating Guatemala, Jamaica and Guadeloupe. Honduras was the runner-up in Group B, beating Curacao and El Salvador following a 6-0 loss to Canada.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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