Colombia vs Panama Predictions

Colombia kick off their preparations for the Copa America on Monday night, as they play a friendly with Panama in Bogota. The Colombians are bound for Brazil this summer, as they aim to secure glory in the South American championships. Meanwhile, Panama have a busy summer of their own as they’re bound for the USA for the Gold Cup. Who will kick off their summer with a victory in this warm-up friendly?

Colombia are taking a strong squad into this tournament, which has made them outsiders for glory. While hosts Brazil are favourites, closely followed by Argentina, Colombia come in as fourth-favourites, while they are likely to make a push for glory. They are bringing an impressive squad into this summer’s competition, as they have a squad full of talented players from across Europe. However, will that translate into success for them in this week’s friendly with Panama?

While Colombia’s squad is made up of players from the pick of Europe’s clubs, Panama’s comes from a couple of tiers below. Their most experienced forward is Gabriel Torres, who plays for Universidad de Chile. They’ve included players from LA Galaxy II, Sporting San Miguelito and Slovakia’s Dunajska Streda. They’ve not got the deepest squad in international football, which has played a role in the Central American side failing to win in their last 12 internationals. They face a tall order trying to turn that around here.

Colombia have won three of their last four matches, while they proved to be a tough test for England at last summer’s World Cup. They’ve got notable players coming off strong seasons, including Atalanta’s top scorer Duvan Zapata, the rejuvinatedRadamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado of Juventus. Meanwhile, captain James Rodriguez is in the shop window, he’s being chased by top Serie A clubs so expect big things from him this summer. While Colombia have decent defenders, their side remains top heavy, which should point to goals in this clash.

Panama have been beaten in three of their last four games, which has seen them ship two goals to Ecuador and three to the United States. They’ve lost six of their last eight friendlies, while they’ve been on the end of heavy friendly losses at Switzerland, Japan and the USA in recent trips. Given that Colombia pulled off a 3-1 win in their last home clash – which has been followed up by high scoring seasons for their attacking stars – we think that they will impress going forward here. Colombia to win with over 2.5 goals to be scored is our tip for this game.