Panama vs Honduras Match Analysis and Prediction

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Panama will be hosting Honduras on Friday at Estadio Rommel Fernandez, as they will be looking for a win that will see them maintain a top-four position in the final round of qualifying for World Cup 2022.

Heading into the final qualification window, the hosts are holding a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs, currently sitting fourth, while Honduras will miss the finals for a second successive time as they are last in the Octagon with three points.

Thomas Christiansen and his side have had a difficult start to 2022, having not done any favours in the previous window, dropping two of their three encounters.

Panama may have the most challenging schedule on any CONCACAF side down the stretch of qualification, having to face the top two teams in the Octagon at the moment, the USA and Canada.

Los Canaleros’ last three victories in the Octagon have come after conceding the opener, including a comeback victory in their previous encounter against Honduras, scoring three goals in the final 13 minutes to win 3-2.

Meanwhile, Honduras have had a forgettable qualifying campaign this go-round, as time seems to have caught up to this ageing squad.

They are in danger of going winless in this competition for the first time since the 1990 campaign with only three draws after 11 games.

Even with the presence of Hernan Dario Gomez, who is an experienced international manager, fortunes have not changed, as Honduras have lost all six matches played since the former Panama boss took over in October.

Honduras have not won a game when conceding the opener since defeating Mexico 3-2 in the final CONCACAF qualifying fixture for the 2018 finals.

They struggled to answer when trailing earlier this year in matches against Canada, El Salvador and the USA, rarely showing much urgency to attack.

Panama vs Honduras head to head

The two teams have previously met on 39 occasions across all competitions, where Honduras have taken 21 victories while Panama have won 11, and they have drawn in 7. Panama have scored 35 goals and conceded 62. In their last five meetings, Panama have won once, Honduras in three with one draw.

Panama 0-1 Honduras 18/01/17

Panama 2-2 Honduras 14/06/17

Honduras 1-0 Panama 17/11/18

Panama 2-3 Honduras 18/07/21

Honduras 2-3 Panama 13/11/21

Panama latest home form

Panama have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their six most recent matches. Their last home defeat came on July 18 when they lost 3-2 to Honduras in the Concacaf Gold Cup. In their last five, they have scored seven goals and conceded four.

Panama 0-0 Costa Rica 03/09/21

Panama 1-1 Mexico 09/09/21

Panama 1-0 United States 11/10/21

Panama 2-1 El Salvador 17/11/21

Panama 3-2 Jamaica 31/01/22

Panama latest away form

Panama have recently failed to keep a good run of form on ther road, having won only one of their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat Honduras 3-2 in the Wolrd Cup Qualifying Concacaf on November 13. In their last five, they have scored five goals and conceded nine.

Canada 4-1 Panama 14/10/21

Honduras 2-3 Panama 13/11/21

Peru 1-1 Panama 17/01/22

Costa Rica 1-0 Panama 28/01/22

Mexico 1-0 Panama 03/02/22

Honduras latest home form

Honduras have recently been on a poor run of form at home, having failed to win in any of their seven most recent matches. Their last home victory came on July 14 when they defeated Grenada 4-0. In their last five macthes, they have scored two goals and conceded nine.

Honduras 0-0 Costa Rica 08/10/21

Honduras 0-2 Jamaica 14/10/21

Honduras 2-3 Panama 13/11/21

Honduras 0-2 Canada 28/01/22

Honduras 0-2 El Salvador 31/01/22

Honduras latest away form

Honduras have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having been winless in their seven most recent matches. Their last away victory came on July 18 when they defeated Panama 3-2 in the Concacaf Gold Cup. In their last five, they have scored two goals and conceded 10.

El Salvador 0-0 Honduras 08/10/21

Mexico 3-0 Honduras 11/10/21

Costa Rica 2-1 Honduras 17/11/21

Colombia 2-1 Honduras 17/01/22

United States 3-0 Honduras 03/02/22

Panama news

Gabriel Torres can earn his 100th cap for the national team should he play on Friday, while Alberto Quintero could move beyond Roman Torres into fourth in all-time appearances for his country,

Luis Mejja has posted collected two clean sheets in the Octagon for Panama, while their attacking option has been Cecilio Waterman.

Honduras news

Striker Romell Quinto is one of three Honduras players to have scored in qualifying, along with Alberth Elis and Alexander Lopez.

Goalkeeper Edrick Menjivar collected his fifth cap for the national team in the encounter with the USA, while midfielders Kervin Arriaga and Bryan Acosta both sat out of that match.

Prediction and Odds

At this stage, Honduras will only be playing for pride, so we do not expect to see more urgency from their side.

Panama enter the match having more organisation and balance in their team, and have recently been good at home, so we expect the to win the game on Friday.

Odds: 1 1.75 X 2.15 2 2.40