Panama already knew it was advancing in the Gold Cup. Luis Tejada ensured it would be as the group champion.
Tejada scored in the first minute of stoppage time during a scramble in front of goal, allowing Panama to escape Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw against Canada.
The goal was originally credited to Blas Perez, but CONCACAF changed it midway through the nightcap between the United States and Guadeloupe. The result gave Panama seven points in Group C while Canada has four. The Canadians were eliminated when the U.S. beat Guadeloupe 1-0.
''Our goal before the start of this tournament was to come out on top of our group,'' said Panamanian coach Julio Dely Valdes. ''Now that we have done that, our goal is to go as far as possible in the Gold Cup and essentially win the whole thing.''
Dwayne De Rosario converted a penalty kick in the 62nd minute for Canada, which would have secured a quarterfinal berth had it been able to hold on for the victory.
Panama, which played back and counterattacked for the first 60 minutes, turned up the pressure late in the match and missed several good chances before finally forcing the draw.
''I don't think we did a good enough job of keeping the ball and making them work to get it,'' Canadian coach Stephen Hart said. ''They were throwing numbers forward and we just couldn't get a hold of the ball for any period of time. Unfortunately, what happened, happened.''
Tejada's goal came after Gabriel Gomez's shot was blocked. The ball bounced around in front of the goal, and Tejada poked it in for the equalizer.
CONCACAF went back and forth on who scored the goal. Tejada was credited first, then the decision was made to award it to Perez several minutes after the game. Then, midway through the U.S.-Guadeloupe match, tournament officials reversed course again.
''We played our game and didn't let up until the final whistle,'' Dely Valdes said.
Canada, needing all three points to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage, came out pressing hard from the first kick. After several close misses in the first half, the pressure finally paid off when De Rosario was fouled in the area by Eybir Bonaga.
DeRosario stepped to the spot, got Panamanian keeper Luis Mejia to go the wrong way and put a low drive into the left corner of the goal.
