Honduras took a firm grip of the top spot in Group D at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, fighting back to down Panama, 3-2, in Saturday’s second match of group stage play.
Romell Quioto scored twice for Honduras, including the game winner as Thomas Christiansen’s side moved to six points in their opening two matches. Honduras sits two points clear of Qatar heading into its final match of the group stage against Qatar.
Qatar clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over last place Grenada. Four different goalscorers found the back of the net for Qatar, who can top Group D with a victory over Honduras on Tuesday.
Here’s a closer look at Saturday’s Gold Cup results.
Panama 2, Honduras 3
(Eric Davis PK 32′, Cesar Yanis 45 +1′) – (Romell Quioto 22′ 65′, Alexander Lopez 61′)
Honduras struck early against Panama in group stage play on Saturday, but eventually needed a second-half comeback to pick up a second victory of the tournament.
Romell Quioto scored in each half for Honduras, giving them a 3-2 comeback victory over Panama and all but ending the Panamanians chances of advancing in the Gold Cup.
Quioto struck first in the match, receiving a pass from Alexander Lopez and slotting home in the 22nd minute. It wouldn’t be the only top moment for the CF Montreal forward as he would deliver the dagger blow to Panama’s chances in the second half.
VAR ruled in favor of a penalty kick in the 32nd minute after Maynor Figueroa was called for handball in the box. Eric Lopez stepped up and scored to tie things up at 1-1.
Cesar Yanis swung momentum into Panama’s favor in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, swinging a left foot at a shot in the box and delivering into the bottom corner. However, Panama would see a more determined Honduras attack after halftime.
Honduras would tie things up at 2-2 in the 61st minute as Alex Lopez hit a low drive into the bottom-right corner following a corner kick. Quioto would score his second goal of the match in the 65th minute, giving Honduras a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in Houston.
🎥 Resumen: 🇭🇳 Honduras superó a 🇵🇦 Panamá 3-2 tras un gran partido en Houston por el Grupo D de #CopaOro21. Los Catrachos sellaron su pase a la siguiente fase. #EstoEsNuestro pic.twitter.com/4GASs5LuRq
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 18, 2021
Just like his opener, Quioto slid a right-footed effort into the bottom corner, giving Honduras all three points.
Grenada 0, Qatar 4
(Abdelaziz Hatim 11′, Akram Afif 22′, Mohammed Muntari 36′, Almoez Ali 46′)
Qatar rolled to a 3-0 halftime lead and would even add a fourth goal after the interval to clinch a spot into the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Abdelaziz Hatim kickstarted the busy opening half for Qatar, pouncing on a rebound in the 11th minute and scoring from close range for a 1-0 advantage. Akram Afif doubled Qatar’s lead in the 22nd minute, roofing a missile into the top corner and continuing to put Grenada on the back foot.
What an amazing goal! ⚽🔥🎯
Akram Afif scores this laser of a goal to give Qatar 🇶🇦 a well deserved victory! It was the Goal of the Day presented by @ToyotaLatino#GoldCup21 🏆 #ThisIsOurs pic.twitter.com/WxqYYxoOr3
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 18, 2021
Mohamed Muntari’s close range header in the 31st minute extended Qatar’s advantage to 3-0 before Almoez Ali added a close range header of his own in the 46th minute to cap the scoring.
Grenada finished with two shots on goal in the match and has not yet to score a goal in the Gold Cup.
It seems to me the article is mistaken. Qatar hasn’t clinched yet. If Panama routs Grenada and Honduras beats Qatar by a few goals, Panama will be through on equal points (4) and better GD. This is not a far fetched scenario either. Am I missing something?
Tonight game between Honduras vs Panama is the game of the tourney so far. Panama vs Qatar was amazing but this one tops it cause of the crowd. The Honduras crowd really came out for this one and you can feel the pressure in the stadium when Honduras went down 2-1. lol Panama been a high offensive team in the Gold Cup so far, I would have never guessed that.