CONCACAF could have its first official participant in the World Cup as soon as Friday night. A win for Mexico would give it 17 points in its first seven matches in World Cup qualifying, and that would be enough to give it the old 'Y' next to its name to signify qualification to the world's biggest tournament. Panama is currently the bubble team that could be headed to the intercontinental playoff, and anything it could snare from this match would be welcome in the quest to head to Russia next year.
This World Cup Qualifying duel will go down Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9:30 p.m. ET at Estadio Azteca. The match will be televised live on FOX Sports 2.
Opening Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Mexico -350
Panama +750
Draw +300
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
Go ahead and write in 2-0 as the final score of this match. That's really the obvious final score that the oddsmakers are forecasting as the end result. Both of these teams play incredibly close to the vest, and goal-scoring chances are going to be few and far between.
Los Ticos are set at -350 on the moneyline, and rightfully so after starting out World Cup qualifying at 4-2-0 through six matches with just two goals conceded.
The total is just barely 2.5 with Mexico favored by a goal and a half on the Asian Handicap.
Roster Analysis
The veteran guard has been called in by Juan Carlos Osorio. The Colombian won't be on the touchline for this match as he serves out the last game of his six-match suspension for his antics in the Confederations Cup, and you can bet that's why he's got both Giovani dos Santos and Jonathan dos Santos on his roster along with Andres Guardado and Javier Hernandez. These four are amongst the crucial veterans who will lead on the pitch with Osorio not out there, and that should ultimately be enough to mask the fact that the boss won't be anywhere near the field.
Panama has called upon a veteran roster as well. Gabriel Gomez, Blas Perez and Luis Tejada have all played at least 100 matches for their country. Perez really feels like he's had it for the international game, but we can't imagine that he would have been called to the squad if he wasn't going to at least be used as a substitute to try to inject some life into a Panamanian offense that is generally relatively stagnant. Watch out for Armando Cooper, Alberto Quintero and Anibal Godoy as well. All three have at least 80 Caps, and none of the three have reached their 30th birthday yet.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
It doesn't take a handicapper to know how the bones of this match are going to work. Mexico is going to possess the ball for at least 60 minutes, if not more. Most of the possession is going to be just inside of the attacking half but probably not quite in the attacking third. The Panamanians are going to crowd the box as best they can and try to run this 90 minutes out without much in the way of incident, and if they can ultimately snare a goal on the counterattack, all the better.
The way El Tri have played of late, it's just impossible to bet on them at a price like this in a match that frankly doesn't mean all that much. These two teams played out to a scoreless draw when they met earlier in qualifying, and we have a hunch that could be where this one is going, too. The point will be a sturdy result for both sides, as it will move Mexico within a point of qualifying with three matches left to go and will give Panama so tremendous momentum in the quest to finish fourth in this group.
World Cup Qualifying Odds: Mexico 0, Panama 0
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