CF Montréal forward Romell Quioto struck for a brace, including a 65th-minute game winner that lifted Honduras to a 3-2 victory over Panama and a spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals at BBVA Stadium on Saturday night.
Alexander Lopez leveled the match in the 61st minute for Honduras, which has won both of its Group D matches ahead of a finale against Qatar on Tuesday also at BBVA in Houston.
Los Catrachos need only a draw from that match — where they will likely have another fiercely supportive crowd like Saturday's — to secure the top spot in the group and avoid a quarterfinal meeting against the Group A winner.
Mexico are favored to win Group A, though they need three points in their group finale Sunday against El Salvador.
Eric Davis pulled Panama level on a 32nd-minute penalty after Houston Dynamo center back Maynor Figueroa's handball, and Cesar Yanis gave Los Canaleros the lead in first-half stoppage time.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Honduras booked its place in the quarters while manager Fabian Coito also sent a message that his team is deep enough to be bigger than any individual player when he subbed off former Dynamo winger Alberth Elis at halftime. Elis is one of only two European-based players on this current Honduras squad.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Anyone who says Route 1 football can't be beautiful should be forced to say so directly to Quioto and Kevin Alvarez, who connected with a gorgeous ball over the top and equally brilliant controlling touch and finish. It was a goal worthy of winning any game on the planet.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Romell Quioto. The former Dynamo man was exceptional in his second group match at the stadium he once called home, proving his reinvention as a center forward could translate to the international game.
Up Next
- PAN: Tuesday, July 20 vs. Grenada, at Orlando, Fla., Concacaf Gold Cup Group D (9:30 pm ET)
- HON: Tuesday, July 20 vs. Qatar, at Houston, Texas, Concacaf Gold Cup Group D (9:30 pm ET)
