Mexico vs. Panama: Biggest Keys for Both Sides Ahead of Semifinal Tilt

Mexico's Gold Cup run got off to an inauspicious start when Panama beat them 2-1 in a July 7 Group A game. 

Panama eventually won Group A, but Mexico improved as the tournament wore on. El Tri are now looking for some revenge with a trip to the finals to take on the winner of the United State versus Honduras. 

With Mexico's improved play, they are my pick to advance to the final. However, I will add they are a slight favorite. I expect a close, hard-fought match.

Whichever team does a better job of executing the following keys will win. 

Match Vitals

Where: Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas

When: Wednesday, July 24, at 10 p.m. ET

TV: Fox Soccer

Streaming: Fox Soccer 2Go (subscription required)

Mexico's Keys to Victory

Turn Possession into Quality Shots

This could be a key for any team in contest, right? I mean it's essentially saying "control the ball and score lots of goals." 

However, in this case, it is absolutely something Mexico must accomplish. In the July 7 contest, Mexico controlled 72 percent of possession. This led to 12 shots, with just four of those shots being on target. 

With the ability to dominate possession in this matchup, Mexico must work for better looks. This is not to say the offense has to play rigidly or without creativity; rather, it needs to exercise a little patience while looking for scoring blasts. 

Receive a Spark from Marco Fabian

Heading into the Gold Cup, Mexico's offense had stalled to a standstill. 

In the five games directly preceding this tournament, El Tri had netted a combined three goals. In the last three Gold Cup contests, Mexico have tallied six goals, and Marco Fabian has been at the center of most of this success. 

The midfielder is beating Mexico's pre-Gold Cup scoring pace by himself—having scored a goal in each of El Tri's group stage contests.

With his powerful shot and the ability to score from long distance, Mexico would benefit from an early strike from long range off the foot of Fabian. This will give the offense a boost, and it will help bring out Panama's defense a bit. 

Panama's Keys to Victory

Receive More Brilliant Play from Alberto Quintero

When looking at the stat sheet, Gabriel Torres clearly distinguishes himself as Panama's best player. He's tied for the tournament lead with five goals, and he scored both goals against Mexico in the group stage. 

Torres has played wonderfully, and I don't mean to take anything away from him. However, Alberto Quintero is a bigger key in this match, and he was more important on July 7. He set up the opening score in that contest by drawing a penalty, and he created the second score.

What's more, El Tri couldn't keep up with the left-winger. He was running circles around El Tri's defenders and pulling them out of position in the process.

Be Explosive on Counterattacks

Panama's offense can quickly go stagnant. Yes, Panama are coming off a game where they netted six against Cuba, but that's not really all that impressive. Cuba's defense was torched in this tournament by every team that did not hail from Belize.

Prior to that quarterfinal outburst, Panama had netted just one goal in their previous two games.

This is not an explosive offense, and Panama are typically content to sit back and play good defense while looking for a hole to exploit. If they want to beat a Mexico side that has made strides since the two last met, Panama will have to get good looks on counterattacks and aggressively look to push on a change of possession.