Costa Rica lost a sixth consecutive match against its neighbor Panama on Thursday evening thanks to a solitary goal from José Fajardo in the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals.

In team news, interim head coach Claudio Vivas made two changes from last month’s 3-0 win over Guatemala, with Jefferson Brenes replacing Alejandro Bran in the middle of the park and Julio Cascante replacing the injured Haxzel Quirós, meaning Jeyland Mitchell moved to right-back.

First half

In front of a soggy and noisy home crowd, Los Ticos almost got off to a perfect start in the tenth minute when Juan Pablo Vargas’ header from captain Francisco Calvo’s strike was well saved by Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

In such an important competition, tempers unsurprisingly began to flare and a 20-man melee ensued when Panamanian striker José Fajardo and Jeyland Mitchell pushed each other, resulting in both players receiving a yellow card. As a result, Mitchell will miss the return match next week.

Minutes later, Mosquera was forced into another smart save, pushing away Warren Madrigal’s stinging shot from a tight angle after meeting Aguilera’s sublime long ball.

Eight minutes before halftime, defender Cesar Blackman had Panama’s first real chance, cutting in with his right foot and shooting just wide from the edge of the box as LosCanaleros finished the half in the lead.

Second half

On the hour mark, the very involved Fajardo managed to place the ball over the bar from six meters, the goal being at his mercy after recovering an exquisite cross from Michael Amir Murillo, a real abandonment of the Sele .

But Costa Rica ignored the warning signs and four minutes later the visiting team were awarded a penalty after Vargas was accused of bringing down Panamanian midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla in the surface. Fajardo made amends for his earlier failure, emphatically converting Patrick Sequeira’s mid-goal kick.

Things got even worse for Vargas, as he was forced off the field due to injury with 15 minutes remaining.

Los Ticos huffed and puffed in search of an equalizer, throwing at forwards Andy Rojas and Joel Campbell and resorting to desperate long balls into the Panamanian half, but in truth they never looked close. snatch a goal, while LosCanaleros comfortably saw off the rest. of the tie.

Player Ratings

1) Patrick Séqueira – 6/10

6) July Cascante – 6/10

3) Jeyland Mitchell – 4/10

4) Juan Pablo Vargas – 3.5/10

15) Francisco Calvo (C) -5.5/10

19) Kenneth Vargas – 5.5/10

10) Brandon Aguilera – 6.5/10

13) Jefferson Brenès – 5.5/10

17) Warren Madrigal – 6.5/10

9) Manfred Ugalde – 7/10 (MOTM)

14) Alonso Martinez – 5/10

Substitutes

2) Yostin Salinas (for Jeyland Mitchell 45th minute) – 4/10

12) Joel Campbell (for Alonso Martinez 70th minute) – 4/10

16) Alejandro Bran (for Jefferson Brenes 70th minute) – 4/10

22) Alexis Gamboa (for Juan Pablo Vargas 75th minute) – N/A

7) Andy Rojas (for Kenneth Vargas 88th minute) – N/A

Coach

Claudio Vivas – 3/10

The interim coach was wrong about the team before a ball was even kicked. Starting Mitchell out of his right-back position, an unfamiliar position for the 20-year-old, was a predictable disaster, and he was lucky not to be sent off before being substituted at half-time. Francisco Calvo is also much less effective at left-back than in his usual central defense role.

Vivas’ rudimentary tactical plan of running the ball through the channels or behind the Panama defense at every opportunity was predictable and easily snuffed out by the savvy Los Canaleros. This was in stark contrast to Thomas Christiansen’s attractive, possession-based team built around ball retention. The statistic shows that Panama had 60% possession, an inexcusable figure for the Sele, considering they were at home in a two-legged knockout match. Furthermore, the fact that the home side only had two shots on target throughout the competition highlights a real lack of offensive cohesion or game plan from Vivas and his men.

Despite the defeat, the tie is far from over. But Costa Rica will need to break their dreaded six-game losing streak against Los Canaleros and earn a win in Panama, something they haven’t done since 2015, also over six matches. Stranger things have happened, but given that Los Canaleros are also unbeaten in 16 consecutive competitive matches at home, it would take a monumental effort from Los Ticos to turn that around!

The quarterfinal second leg will be played at Estadio Rommel Fernández in Panama City on November 18 at 8:00 p.m. CDT (8:00 p.m. UTC−6).