Panama 2-1 Costa Rica
To be honest, no one in the football betting world ever expected the final football games of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers to end this way.
However, we sure are thrilled that such twists and turns happened at the very last minute.
The live betting gem that was Panama vs Costa Rica started fast and furious, as both nations wanted to end their qualifying campaigns on a high. The game was pretty competitive until Costa Rica got the go-ahead goal in the 36th minute. Bryan Ruiz made a beautiful lob pass to Johan Venegas down the right wing to engage Panama keeper Jaime Penedo on a one-on-one. Venegas chipped the ball over him for the go-ahead goal.
The visitors managed to keep the lead until the second half, where a controversial goal was scored. A 53rd-minute corner ended in a scuffle in front of the goal, where Gabriel Torres appeared to have headed the ball in. Costa Rica protested the goal, saying that the ball did not cross the line. The footage did show that Costa Rica managed to stop the ball, but a terrible tackle by Francisco Calvo would have awarded Panama with the penalty.
The tension was at its peak at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez Gutierrez until the dying minutes of the game, where centre-half Roman Torres mirrored Ruiz’s first goal, shooting the ball over Patrick Pemberton’s head for the winner.
The victory meant Panama securing their automatic ticket to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The victory came at the expense of the United States, whose match against bottom-dwellers Trinidad & Tobago ended in a stunning upset. While many may cry foul and point to game footage for the controversial goal, I think the awarded penalty would have done the same impact.
The Caribbean nation will be celebrating for a good long while, and Gabriel and Roman Torres will be hailed as heroes. It’s not every day that a questionable goal is in your favour, let alone leads you to glory.
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