Central American Cup 2017 - Panama

Central American Cup 2017

13–22 January 2017

            This is the 14^th edition of this Cup which is bi-annual like the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The top 4 nations qualify for the Gold Cup. The 5^th place team enters a playoff-series against the 5^th place Caribbean nation for the last Gold Cup spot. This tournament runs Jan 13^th through the 22^nd. Panama will be your host.

Costa Rica dominance

            Costa Rica has dominated this event. The Tico’s have been in every Championship game, except one. They have won 8 of the 12 Titles they played in. Costa Rica has won the last 2 tournaments and again they are the the favorite to win again. They are the reigning Champions and they have a lot of passionate fans.  

Hosting controversy

            This will be Panama’s 3^rd time hosting the event. The problem is that neither Nicaragua nor Belize has host yet. Panama is a great pick to host however they just hosted in 2011 and 2003. I believe Panamas new influence, both economically and the prowess of the soccer success allowed them to leapfrog both Belize and Nicaragua. They all want the tournament to be well attended and Panama is the best option at this time.

More Competitive

            In previous tournaments Belize and Nicaragua were just not competitive. They would lose by multiple goals. Now they can play all nations tight. Both Belize and Nicaragua have been to the semi-finals game and each was invited to the Gold Cup. Honduras can give Costa Rica a good game. Panama has improved so much they can be Costa Ricas’ equal if they are at home. This tournament they will be the host and have all home games. This is Panama’s best chance to win the Central American Cup.

New Format with Guatemala not allowed to play

            There use to be 2 groups. One group of 3 nations and one group of 4. This was always unfair since some nations would play more group games. This years tournament Guatemala is not allowed to play. This is punishment by FIFA. The nations will all play each other once.

            To me the big game is Panama v Costa Rica. I believe the winner of this game will win the tournament.

Bold Predictions

Rommell Stadium in Panama will host the Central American Cup 2017

1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. Honduras
4. El Salvador
5. Nicaragua
6. Belize