Panama vs Paraguay

Estadio Rommel Fernandez is the venue as Panama and Paraguay go head-to-head in their first friendly meeting in over a decade.

Final preparations for Panama’s first Copa America appearance since 2016 are underway. Los Canaleros are looking to build on back-to-back two-goal margin wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifying against below-par Guyana and Montserrat. Panama failed to make it out of the group stages in their only previous Copa America showing. They’ll have an opportunity to assess their chances pre-tournament against a Paraguay side they’ve lost to in all three historic H2Hs, including the last two without scoring. Interestingly, none of Panama’s ten internationals since October 2023 have ended as a draw (W8, L2). With seven of those ten results (wins/losses) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, scoring the opening goal could determine the outcome of this fixture.

Ominously for Paraguay, their form has notoriously dwindled after a narrow 1-0 home win against CONMEBOL minnows Bolivia in October 2023. Daniel Garnero’s men have since gone winless in four consecutive matches (D2, L2), failing to get on the scoresheet on each occasion. Scoring has been a genuine issue for Los Guaranies, as they’ve only netted one goal in eight games since September 2023 (W1, D3, L4)! Facing Panama offers some relief, considering Paraguay had bagged precisely two goals in their first two H2Hs before a slender 1-0 triumph in their most recent encounter in 2012. On another positive note, the Paraguayans have conceded under 1.5 goals in eight of their last nine internationals.