Panama Defeats Qatar in Gold Cup Quarterfinal

Ismael Diaz #11 of Panama celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal of the match against Qatar during the second half of a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match at AT&T Stadium on July 8, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ismael Diaz #11 of Panama celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal of the match against Qatar during the second half of a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match at AT&T Stadium on July 8, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Panama Defeats Qatar in Gold Cup Quarterfinal

Ismael Diaz #11 of Panama celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal of the match against Qatar during the second half of a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match at AT&T Stadium on July 8, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ismael Diaz #11 of Panama celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal of the match against Qatar during the second half of a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match at AT&T Stadium on July 8, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)

Ismael Diaz tallied three second-half goals to power Panama to a 4-0 win over Qatar in the quarterfinals of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

Panama held a 1-0 lead at intermission on a tally from Edgar Barcenas in the 19th minute.

Diaz then tallied in the 56th, 63rd and 65th minutes to put an emphatic end to the affair.

Panama put six shots on goal on 17 total. Qatar managed one shot on goal for the match.

Panama held possession for 62 percent of the contest.

Panama won Group C with a 2-0-1 mark, earning seven points. Qatar finished second in Group B with a 1-1-1 mark.



Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
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Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Soccer Game Without Incident in Hungary

28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
28 November 2024, Berlin: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wave Israeli flags in the stands during the EuroLeague Basketball match between Alba Berlin and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Uber Arena. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv's game against Besiktas in the Europa League was played without incident before empty stands in Hungary on Thursday, with the stadium closed to fans over security concerns following attacks on Israeli supporters in Amsterdam this month.
Maccabi won the game 3-1 on a cold and rainy evening in Debrecen, Hungary's second-largest city. Groups of police patrolled outside the stadium but security levels did not appear overwhelming in the city of around 200,000 residents, The Associated Press reported.
After the match, Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic said playing in front of an empty stadium without fans is always a struggle for the team.
“We play football because of the fans, to give them some pleasure, some excite(ment) and to be together,” he said.
Israel’s soccer teams play domestic games at home despite the Israel-Hamas war. But European soccer body UEFA has ruled that the war in Gaza means Israel cannot host international games.
The Thursday match was Maccabi’s first in Europe since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands on Nov. 7 in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
Before that match in Amsterdam, a large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans, and later, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to the city's mayor.
Five people were treated in hospitals and police detained dozens of people.
Even before the Amsterdam attacks, the European soccer body UEFA announced that Thursday’s Europa League match, originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul, would be moved to a neutral venue “following a decision by the Turkish authorities.”
Hungary, which has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team since the war in Gaza began, agreed to host the game.