PANAMA CITY, PANAMA.- Panama welcomes Mexico to the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City on Friday, hoping to get a win and some help in the future to stay alive for the top spot in Group B.

In what will be the 21st all-time meeting between the two nations, Mexico needs only one point from its final two matches to move into the CNL Final Championship in the summer after beginning its participation in the tournament with a 5-1 win over Bermuda and following that up with a 3-1 victory against Panama.

That game saw goals from Roberto Alvarado, Jose Juan Macias and Rodolfo Pizarro, all of whom are back in Mexico manager Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino’s squad.

Panama boss Americo Gallego has called in a number of veterans from Panama’s 2018 World Cup squad, including defenders Roman Torres and Adolfo Machado and forward Gabriel Torres, who is one of just three players in League A with multiple goals in the tournament.

A draw, the most common result historically when the teams meet in Panama including their last encounter in November 2016, would put Los Canaleros in position to likely secure direct Gold Cup qualification, but they’ll be out to get all three points and secure a historic win against a tough El Tri squad.