Eduardo Guerrero scored the tiebreaking goal in the 79th minute and Panama recorded a 3-1 victory over Bolivia to advance from Group C at Copa America on Monday night in Orlando.
When the match ended, Panama was en route to landing a quarterfinal berth, pending the conclusion of the match between the United States and Uruguay. Uruguay ended up winning 1-0, allowing the Panamanians to move on to the knockout stage.
Jose Fajardo and Cesar Yanis also scored goals for Panama (2-1-0, 6 points), and Eric Davis set up the winning tally.
Bruno Miranda scored the goal for Bolivia (0-3-0, 0 points), which was outscored 10-1 in pool play.
Panama held a 13-7 advantage in shots and placed six on target to Bolivia’s four.
Panama took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute after Cristian Martinez set up Fajardo, who ripped a right-footed shot over the right hand of Bolivia goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
Bolivia knotted the match in the 69th minute when Miranda received a pass and slipped a left-footed shot just inside the near post.
Bolivia had an opportunity to take the lead in the 78th minute when Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera came far out of the box. Bolivia’s Miguel Terceros then took a long right-footed shot toward the net that was knocked away by a defender.
One minute later, Panama took the lead. Davis was on the left side and delivered a hard ball into the box, and Guerrero sent a header past Viscarra.
Yanis all but clinched the victory for Panama in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when he ripped a right-footed shot into the upper right portion of the net.
Terceros had two solid chances with his left foot in the first half, but his 25th-minute attempt was wide to the right and, five minutes later, his shot was stopped by Mosquera.
–Field Level Media
