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Qatar and Panama will kick off their Gold Cup sojourn at the BBVA Stadium on Tuesday, with three points on the line in Group D of the tournament.
Qatar are in the tournament by invitation and picked up a 1-0 friendly victory over El Salvador in their most recent fixture last week.
Panama were on the wrong end of a 3-0 trouncing by Mexico in a friendly played at the start of July. Diego Lainez, Cesar Montez and Henry Martin all got on the scoresheet for El Tri.
Panama and Qatar will be looking to kickstart their tournament on a winning note to put them in good stead to qualify for the knockout round. The other two teams in the group are Honduras and Grenada.
Qatar vs Panama Head-to-Head
This will be the first international meeting between the two sides. Qatar are currently on a good run of form that has seen them go eight games without defeat, with their last four matches ending in victory.
Panama are winless in two games, having initially won five matches on the bounce before their recent slump.
Qatar form guide: W-W-W-W-D
Panama form guide: L-D-W-W-W
Qatar vs Panama Team News
Qatar
Coach Felix Sanchez called up 23 players to dispute the Gold Cup for Qatar. The squad is made up exclusively of players who ply their trade in the Qatar Stars League.
It is headlined by captain Hasan Al-Haydos, as well as other experienced stalwarts like Akram Afif and Karim Boudiaf.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Panama
Panama called up 23 players for their Gold Cup squad. There are no known injuries or suspension worries for coach Thomas Christiansen.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Qatar vs Panama Predicted XI
Qatar Predicted XI (4-3-3): Saad Al Sheeb (GK); Ro-Ro, Abdelkarim Hassan, Tarek Salman, Boulam Khouki; Abdulaziz Hatem, Mohammed Waad, Karim Boudiaf; Akram Akif, Hassan Al-Haydos, Almoez Ali
Panama Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jose Calderon (GK); Adolfo Machado, Harold Cummings, Francisco Palacios, Andres Andrade; Alberto Quintero, Miguel Camargo, Jose Luis Rodriguez; Gabriel Torres, Jose Fajardo, Cecilio Waterman
Qatar vs Panama Prediction
Despite being invitees, Qatar are one of the dark horses of the tournament and can ruffle Panama feathers if given the chance.
The two teams are likely to play cautiously, considering that this is their first game of the competition, with more emphasis placed on not losing rather than trying to win.
We are predicting a share of the spoils, with goals to be scored at both ends.
Prediction: Qatar 1-1 Panama
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