WILLEMSTAD (DA) — Eloy Room made six saves and Tahith Chong hit the post as Curaçao drew 0-0 with Panama on Thursday night at Stadion Ergilio Hato in the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals.
Curaçao, playing in the quarterfinals for the first time, will advance with a win or a scoring draw Sunday in Panama City. The away-goals rule would send Curaçao through if the teams finish level in regulation with goals. Another 0-0 would force extra time.
Livano Comenencia tested Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera in the second minute. Mosquera also stopped Juninho Bacuna in the 31st, and Chong struck the post with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area. Amir Murillo had already headed against the post for Panama.
Room made five of his six saves before halftime, stopping efforts from Adalberto Carrasquilla, José Córdoba and Carlos Harvey. He denied Harvey again in the 66th minute, two minutes after Kenji Gorré replaced Arjany Martha in Curaçao’s only substitution. Chong had another shot blocked in the 86th.
Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat described it as a difficult match against an excellent team. He said both sides had chances before halftime and that Panama was better in the second half, when it had more of the ball and created several chances.
Advocaat said keeping Panama scoreless was the priority and credited Curaçao for how it defended. He also acknowledged that his team rarely got forward after halftime.
Sunday’s second leg kicks off at 6 p.m. in Panama and 7 p.m. in Curaçao at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez. The winner advances to the Nations League semifinals and qualifies directly for the 2027 Gold Cup. The losing team goes to the Gold Cup preliminaries.