Jamaica vs Panama Predictions

After a relatively respectable showing during the groups, the Jamaicans will be looking to reach the semi-finals, much as they did in 2017, though beating Panama won’t be easy. Los Canaleros proved that they’re tough to face when only narrowly going down against USA in the final group game, so they certainly won’t be bowled over in Pennsylvania.

The likes of Mexico and USA have received all the plaudits, while Haiti’s success in the groups deservedly received lots of praise, though Jamaica aren’t a team to forget about. The efforts of the Reggae Boyz at this Gold Cup have been quietly impressive. They didn’t run riot during the groups, winning two games by just the one goal and drawing against Curacao, though they had a real solid look about them. None of their three opponents in Group C ever really looked like they could get the better of Jamaica, who appeared to be in control in each of their matches.

However, while they never looked like getting beat, the Jamaicans weren’t always secure at the back. They conceded against both Honduras and Curacao, which doesn’t exactly bode well ahead of a game against a Panama side that took full advantage of leaky defences during the groups.

Just as Jamaica did, Panama made light work of making it out of their group, despite being thrown in with holders USA. They were always unlikely to get the better of Greg Berhalter’s men, but Panama performed well against both Trinidad and Guyana, scoring six goals and conceding two in the process. Their forward efforts in each of those two matches were particularly eye-catching, as they posted expected goals for numbers of 2.58 and 2.92.

From a betting point of view, this is no easy fixture to call. Given what we’ve seen from the pair, it looks as though the market has it right, so a bet on either side to come out on top represents little value. One bet that does stand out as slightly overpriced is ‘Both Teams to Score’.

During the group stages, we saw the both Jamaica and Panama carry a goal threat, so much so that they should be capable of notching against each other on Sunday. More importantly, given that Jamaica are averaging 1.65 expected goals for at this tournament, coupled with the fact that Panama are averaging 1.98, it appears that there’s a slightly greater chance of both teams finding the net than the current prices would have us believe.