As (Site notre bureau spécialisé) in Europe said goodbye to the summer break after the end of the European U21 Championship yesterday, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is slowly but surely entering its decisive phase.

Along with Mexico and Panama, the first two teams have already been designated as semi-finalists. The Mexicans beat German World Cup opponents Costa Rica 2-0 to advance to the last four for the ninth time in a row.

The Panamanian side presented themselves with even more confidence than ‘El Tri’, sending reigning World Cup hosts Qatar – recently apparently no longer a Gulf state but a Caribbean island – home 4-0 . University striker Ismael Diaz even scored a clear hat-trick between the 56th and 65th minute. The man behind Panama’s current success, however, is Thomas Christiansen. Yes, the Christiansen.

Denmark’s top scorer should still be familiar to many German fans as the former Bochum kicker secured the Bundesliga top scorer in the 2002/2003 season. Christiansen has been coaching the Panamanian national team since 2020 and is obviously doing a good job.

His team is still undefeated during the tournament and can still hope for the first Gold Cup title in the country’s history. In the semi-finals, however, a big chunk awaits Christiansen’s proteges. Panama will meet the winner of the game between the United States and Canada.

By the way, you can stream every game of the tournament for 2.49 euros via our app.