Honduras national soccer team (Photo : Reuters)
After losing their opener against the mighty United States on Tuesday, Honduras is looking to bounce back against Panama on Friday at the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts for their second round of group matches in the 2015 Gold Cup.
Jorge Luis Pinto's men dropped a 1-2 decision in the hands of the defending champions as American forward Clint Dempsey scored a double, as per The Guardian. Midfielder Carlos Discua provided the lone goal for La Bicolor in the 69th-minute mark to put the team on the board.
The Hondurans were actually expected to lose by a mile, but they managed to keep it close until over the hour mark when Dempsey netted his second goal.
Meanwhile, the Panamanians drew lowly Haiti, 1-1, in their opening match, via ESPN. Midfielder Alberto Quintero scored for La Marea Roja in the 55th minute, but Les Grenadiers' young attacker Duckens Nazon managed to equalize it in the closing moments.
Andy Najar and Boniek Garcia will lead coach Pinto's offense while Blas Pérez will do the same for Panamanian manager Hernán Darío Gómez.
Prediction: A tough 2-1 victory for Los Catrachos over Los Canaleros. García and Najar are tireless workhorses that would be too much for Pérez to cancel out. If striker Gabriel Torres can help out in scoring and goalie Jaime Penedo holds his own, Panama can score an unlikely upset.
Honduras starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Escober; Crisanto, M. Figueroa, H. Figueroa, Leverón, Beckeles; Martínez, Mejía, García, Najar; Lozano
Panama starting lineup (4-2-2-2 formation): Penedo; Cummings, Torres, Henríquez, Davis; Gómez, Cooper; Quintero, Pimentel; Pérez, Tejada
