Panama at the CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup is North America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1989, the tournament was known as CONCACAF Championship.[1] It is currently held every two years.[2] From 1996 to 2005, nations from other confederations have regularly joined the tournament as invitees. In earlier editions, the continental championship was held in different countries, but since the inception of the Gold Cup in 1991, the United States are constant hosts or co-hosts.
From 1973 to 1989, the tournament doubled as the confederation's World Cup qualification. CONCACAF's representative team at the FIFA Confederations Cup was decided by a play-off between the winners of the last two tournament editions in 2015 via the CONCACAF Cup, but was then discontinued along with the Confederations Cup.[3]
Since the inaugural tournament in 1963, the Gold Cup was held 28 times and has been won by seven different nations, most often by Mexico (13 titles).
Although Panama was one of the nine teams which participated in the inaugural 1963 CONCACAF Championship, it took thirty years for them to make a second appearance in a continental tournament. However, they have continually participated since 2005 and consistently reached the knockout stage, playing three finals. They lost to the United States on penalties in 2005 and 0–1 in 2013, and lost 0–1 to Mexico in 2023.
In 2015, Panama finished third in the tournament, drawing all six matches 1–1 after normal time.
Overall record
| CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
| 1963 | Group stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | Squad |
| 1965 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1967 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1969 | |||||||||
| 1971 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1973 | |||||||||
| 1977 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1981 | |||||||||
| 1985 | |||||||||
| 1989 | |||||||||
| 1991 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1993 | Group stage | 7th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | Squad |
| 1996 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||
| 2000 | |||||||||
| 2002 | |||||||||
| 2003 | |||||||||
| 2005 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | Squad |
| 2007 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | Squad |
| 2009 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | Squad |
| 2011 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | Squad |
| 2013 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | Squad |
| 2015 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | Squad |
| 2017 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | Squad |
| 2019 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | Squad |
| 2021 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | Squad |
| 2023 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | Squad |
| 2025 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 | Squad |
| Total | Runners-up | 13/28 | 59 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 97 | 71 | — |
Match overview
Record players
Panama's record cap holder Gabriel Gómez appeared in seven consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cups. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup however, he officially retired from international football.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Gold Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Gómez | 31 | 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 |
| 2 | Jaime Penedo | 28 | 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 |
| 3 | Alberto Quintero | 27 | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023 |
| Aníbal Godoy | 27 | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2023 and 2025 | |
| 5 | Román Torres | 25 | 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019 |
| 6 | Harold Cummings | 22 | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023 |
| 7 | Blas Pérez | 21 | 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 |
| 8 | Luis Tejada | 20 | 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015 |
| 9 | Armando Cooper | 19 | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 |
| 10 | Gabriel Torres | 18 | 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 |
| Eric Davis | 18 | 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 |
Top goalscorers
Blas Pérez scored at least once at each of his five tournament participations. In 2013, Gabriel Torres became the first Panamanian to win the Golden Boot at a continental championship; Ismael Díaz became the second in 2025.
| Rank | Player | Goals | Gold Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blas Pérez | 11 | 2007 (3), 2009 (3), 2011 (1), 2013 (3) and 2015 (1) |
| Ismael Díaz | 11 | 2017 (1), 2023 (4) and 2025 (6) | |
| 3 | Luis Tejada | 10 | 2005 (3), 2009 (2), 2011 (3) and 2015 (2) |
| 4 | Gabriel Torres | 8 | 2013 (5), 2017 (2) and 2019 (1) |
| 5 | Gabriel Gómez | 3 | 2009 (1) and 2011 (2) |
| Eric Davis | 3 | 2019 (1) and 2021 (2) | |
| Yoel Bárcenas | 3 | 2019 (1) and 2023 (2) | |
| Tomás Rodríguez | 3 | 2025 |
Awards and records
Team awards
Individual awards
- MVP 2005: Luis Tejada
- MVP 2023: Adalberto Carrasquilla
- Golden Boot 2013: Gabriel Torres (5 goals, shared)
- Golden Boot 2025: Ismael Díaz (6 goals)
- Golden Glove 2005: Jaime Penedo
- Golden Glove 2013: Jaime Penedo
See also
References
- ^ ""Gold Cup 101: What it is, why it matters, and how to follow along this summer"". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "About the CONCACAF Gold Cup". goldcup.org. Gold Cup. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ ""Playoff Match between USA and Mexico [...]"". concacaf.com. Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2018.