PANAMA CITY — Panama coach Hernan "Bolillo" Gomez believes his team needs to be at his best to beat a Mexico team that is "the giant of the region."
Gomez said his side can't make mistakes in Tuesday's World Cup qualification match because while his side has never qualified for a World Cup, it's a given for a team with Mexico's talent level.
"Mexico might play well, poorly or regular and it's going to go to the World Cup. It's problem is in the World Cup," Gomez said. "Mexico might play well, poorly or regular, it wins. It's won everything, except against Chile. We've got to have our best game."
When asked to highlight the best player on Mexico, Gomez instead elected to highlight his countryman Juan Carlos Osorio, Mexico's coach. Gomez sees Osorio as a tactician who is capable of taking Mexico to new heights.
"For me, Juan Carlos Osorio is very important at the the top of the team. He's very skilled," Gomez said. "He's a manager with personality, very studious and I'm sure he's working to put Mexico among the four or eight best teams."
Mexico is the reigning champion of CONCACAF, but things could've gone differently in the 2015 Gold Cup semifinal, when American referee Mark Geiger awarded two controversial penalties to Mexico in a semifinal that El Tri went on to win in extra time after Roman Torres had put Panama ahead in the second half.
But the Seattle Sounders defender says those moments are far from the current team's mind.
"What happened is in the past. This is a new match, and we have to get three points," Torres said. "We don't see it as revenge but rather as what it is, which is a qualification match that we have to go out and win."
Both teams won their Hex-opening matches, with Panama topping Honduras, 1-0, and Mexico beating the United States by a 2-1 margin.
