Anibal Godoy had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad two minutes. The Panamanian midfielder committed a foul to earn a yellow that would keep him out of the next match should his team advance, then seconds later made sure his team wouldn’t advance.
Costa Rica beat Panama 1-0 thanks to a Godoy own goal in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Los Ticos will play either the U.S. or El Salvador in the semifinals on Saturday.
A match plagued by cramps and injuries in the Philly heat, neither side created many legitimate chances. Costa Rica left it to Godoy to create its only goal.
In the 75th minute, Godoy picked up a yellow card, his second of the tournament, meaning he would be suspended for the semifinals should Panama advance.
With the match 0-0, perhaps Godoy thought if he can’t play in the semifinals, why should his team? The San Jose Earthquakes player deflected the ensuing free kick off his head and into the corner of his own goal. It would have been a brilliant finish, if only he had meant it.
As far as own goals go, that's pretty good. Brutal for #PAN but #CRC will take it! @ModeloUSA #ModeloSoccer #CRCvPAN https://t.co/seR1vCtWpc
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 20, 2017
Costa Rica held on for the win, though neither side did much to deserve a victory.
Two minutes before the goal, Panama forward Gabriel Torres took two good shots at Costa Rica goalie Patrick Pemberton’s goal, only for Keylor Navas’ backup to make two strong saves. The attempts were Panama’s best of the match.
Costa Rica didn’t threaten Jose Calderon’s goal much themselves aside from a flurry in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Giancarlo Gonzalez hit a wide open header miles over the cross bar off a corner three minutes into the second half. The most talented player on the pitch, Bryan Ruiz, had shots saved by Calderon in the 53rd and 55th minute, probably Los Ticos’ best chances.
Other than that, the highlight of the match was fans complaining the FS1 coverage was delayed by auto racing.
NASCAR Trucks qualifying ran a little long, delaying the start of the match’s pregame studio coverage, sparking outrage from about eight people. Turns out, the match was like watching people turn in circles anyway.
I can't believe you are showing truck racing QUALIFYING instead of the Gold Cup. Who the hell makes your programming decisions?
— Rickapolis™ (@Rickapolis) July 19, 2017
This is why people don't take America seriously when it comes to soccer. This is embarrassing
— Jordan Price (@JRPrice94) July 19, 2017
Wait what... its qualifying...Seriously you're joking right?
— Katie (@katykatiekati) July 19, 2017
Next thing you're going to tell me is America calls it soccer instead of football
— Cody Havens (@RealHavens) July 19, 2017
The next thing that goes really well during #GoldCup2017 will be the first.
— Clay C. (@ClayC1969) July 19, 2017
Clay C. has the right idea. Still waiting for something to go right.
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