Panama vs. Qatar pick, odds

July 8, 2023

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup has reached the knockout stage and there are not many surprises in the final eight teams remaining.

The United States, Mexico and Canada are all still in the mix, but there are a couple of dark horses still in play.

Two of them, Panama and Qatar, will meet Saturday night.

No team played a more low-event style of soccer than Qatar in the group stage.

The Maroons scored three goals and conceded three en route to a 1-1-1 record with their lone win coming against Mexico in a do-or-die match.

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Panama vs. Qatar pick

But it shouldn’t be surprising that Qatar is looking to turn every match into a rock fight considering its new head coach is the famously conservative Carlos Queiroz.

Queiroz, who managed Iran at the 2022 World Cup, is a master at getting the most out of his roster by keeping his team compact and putting the onus on his opponents to break them down and not get caught on the counterattack.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz of Qatar speaks during a press conference ahead of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup match against Panama

Panama was able to score twice in each group-stage match, but the quality of competition was not high and Qatar, which should be buoyed by its clean sheet against Mexico, should represent a stiffer test for Los Canaleros.

Queiroz’s tactics should keep Qatar in touching distance of the upset for the entirety of their match with Panama and that makes it a dangerous underdog.