Panama take on Qatar at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in the first of this weekend’s four CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals. The winner of this match-up will face either of the two co-host nations, the United States or Canada in the semifinals.
Panama come into this clash as favourites, following an impressive unbeaten group stage campaign.
Los Canaleros wrapped up progression with a game to spare, thanks to 2-1 wins over both Costa Rica and then Martinique, but they fell short of making it three straight victories as they played out a 2-2 draw with El Salvador in Houston. That result was still enough for them to rubber stamp top spot.
After failing to qualify for the last World Cup, back-to-back semi-finals in the Nations League and Gold Cup would be a good response from Panama as they look to re-establish themselves as a regional force to be reckoned with. They will be confident of progressing to the semi-finals as they face the only non-Concacaf team in the competition in Qatar.
With only one point after two group games, a 2-1 loss to Haiti in the opener and a 1-1 draw with Honduras four days later, they looked down and out in the Gold Cup, but a surprise smash-and-grab win against a dominant Mexico in their final group game means they live to fight another day, sneaking through on goal difference.
Qatar did make it all the way to the Gold Cup semi-finals in 2021, defeating El Salvador before succumbing to a narrow 1-0 defeat to the United States in Austin, but whether they prevail over an in-form Panama side this time around to achieve the same feat remains to be seen.
Here GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch, including TV channel, streaming details and more.
Panama vs Qatar kick-off time
| Date: | July 8, 2023 |
| Kick-off time: | 7pm ET/ 4 pm PT |
| Venue: | AT&T Stadium |
The Concacaf quarterfinal clash between Panama and Qatar will be played at AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Kick-off is at 7 pm Eastern Time (ET)/4 p.m. Pacific Time (PT).
How to watch Panama vs Qatar online - TV channels & live streams
 | Univision | Watch here |
 | TUDN | Watch here |
 | FS1 | Watch here |
 | fuboTV | Watch here |
 | Sling TV | Watch here |
The game will be broadcast live on TV on Univision and available to stream live online through Sling TV.
Team news & squads
Panama team news
In a piece of good news for the hosts, midfielder Anibal Godoy is back from suspension, and is likely to slot straight back into starting lineup.
With qualification essentially secured, Panama boss Thomas Christiansen made wholesale changes to the starting XI against El Salvador in order to rest a few key players, and give fringe players a chance. Many of their regulars will all be back in here.
Andres Andrade and Adalberto Carrasquilla will return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench at halftime against El Salvador.
Ismael Diaz could be handed a start in attack ahead of Alberto Quintero after his goal in Houston. Jose Fajardo leads the team with a pair of goals in the group phase and will continue to spearhead the attack.
Panama possible XI: Mosquera; Escobar, Cummings, Andrade; Murillo, Carrasquilla, Godoy, Davis; Barcenas, Diaz; Fajardo
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Mosquera, Samudio, Mejia |
| Defenders: | Escobar, Cummings, Andrare, Miller, Blackman, Davis, Gomez, Murillo |
| Midfielders: | Godoy, Carrasquilla, Martinez, Welch, Quintero |
| Forwards: | Fajardo, Waterman, Gondola, I. Diaz, Barcenas, Yanis, Londono |
Qatar team news
Qatar boss Carlos Queiroz had to field his strongest XI against Mexico despite having two days of additional preparation time. He did make some changes, with the likes of Musab Kheder, Hazem Shehata and Abdullah Marafee coming into the lineup to replace Bassam Al-Rawi, Yusuf Abdurisag and Ali Assadalla.
After deploying a back-three in the opening two games, Queiroz switched to a 4-5-1 formation last time out, and although they won the game, it didn't work out as expected, with Mexico completely dominating the game, so it’ll be interesting to see if he sticks with this system.
Mohammed Waad was forced off at half time due to an injury in the last game, making him a doubt, with Assadalla in line to deputize for him if couldn't recover in time. Mohammed Muntari could return up front, dislodging Tameem Al-Abdullah from the starting XI.
Qatar possible XI: Barsham; Kheder, Salman, Suhail, Ahmed; Assadalla, Fatehi, Meshaal, Marafee, Shehata; Muntari
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers: | Barsham, Hassan, Zakaria |
| Defenders: | Kheder, Suhail, Salman, Ahmed, Abdulsallam, Farahat, Shehata |
| Midfielders: | Madibo, Asad, Mejaba, Marafee, Fatehi, Tarek |
| Forwards: | Al-Adullah, Abdurisag, Muntari, A Mazeed |
Head-to-Head Record
This will be only the third meeting between these two sides. Qatar are undefeated in two games, winning one.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 5/11/22 | Qatar 2-1 Panama | International Friendly |
| 14/7/21 | Qatar 3-3 Panama | CONCACAF Gold Cup |