Costa Rica and Panama battle it out in the Hexagonal phase of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying
The CONCACAF region is now in its final phase of FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifying known as “The Hex”, to end the first set of matches two rising nations clash when Costa Rica travels to Panama City and Estadio Rommel Fernandez to take on the Panamanians.
Date & Time: Wednesday February 6, 2013 8pm local time, Panama City
This match shapes up to be fairly intriguing, as both sides are led by focal points in the attack and play in a trademark Central American style however go about business in completely different styles.
The Costa Ricans under Coach Jorge Luis Pinto has a quite youthful squad with the core of the team in their early to mid 20’s and are highlighted by a versatile attack consisting of the free scoring forward Alvaro Saborio as well as captain Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell and Jairo Arrieta, the likes of Saborio and Arrieta as well as multifaceted midfielder Rodney Wallace and fullback Roy Miller might sound familiar as they all play within MLS.
The Panama squad under Coach Julio Dely Valdés plays a more defensive style, predicated on the strength, size and experience of forward Blas Perez and defender/captain Felipe Baloy. With Mexico and USA odds on favorites to grab two to the automatic qualifying places head to head matches between the other sides become vitally important with only one automatic qualifying birth and the playoff place up for grabs, both squad have promising futures to look forward to and being able to qualify for the 2014 World Cup would help their development significantly.
