Central America takes on South America in an intriguing battle for seventh place over all at the IFAF U20 World Junior Championships when Panama faces Brazil at Clarke Stadium in Alberta, kickoff 4pm MT.
Both sides seek their first win of the tournament, Panama having lost 86-12 to the United States and 21-0 to Australia, while Brazil suffered a lopsided 110-0 defeat to Canada, but put points on the board in a 63-7 reverse against Canada 2.
“We are a family, so we had a conversation after our first game and we knew we could score a touchdown,” said Brazil wide receiver Gabriel Gomes, who scored on a 46-yard reception against Canada 2. It was a true team effort and now we are confident for the game against Panama. We can win and it will be the team effort that wins, not the offense or defense, but all of us as a family.”
Gomes currently leads the tournament with 295 all purpose yards and alongside Panama’s Del Castillo is tied for fourth with a kickoff return average of 14 yards.
Watch live. Team Panama vs Team Brazil, June 30, 19:00 CET (1 pm EDT)
Brazil head coach Adan Rodriguez added:
“Our tournament really started in our second game. We were too nervous in the first game, but now we have our first touchdown and we are very happy and I’m very proud of the guys. We have a final game against Panama and we’re excited and we will give everything and play our best to win.”
While Brazil are newcomers to the international junior stage, Panama returns for the first time since 2012 when they lost to Austria, American Samoa and Sweden in Austin, Texas.
An opening game defeat to the United States might have been lopsided at 86-12, but Panama was impressive offensively as receivers Francisco Saldivar and Juan Pablo Bilbao each found their way beyond the USA secondary to reel in touchdowns.
“It is such a blessing to be here playing for Panama,” said linebacker Luke Koenig, who is fifth among all tournament tacklers with 9.5. “It will be a very exciting and hard-fought game when we play against Brazil.
Panama quarterback Cristian Restrepo’s 144.5 average passing yards per game rank third overall as do his 292 yards of total offense. Running back Leonardo Anderson is among the tournament’s top ten rushers after two games with10 carries for 91 yards, and Saldivar’s receiving yards per game are fifth best overall.