Mexico Vs. Panama: Mexico Falls 2-1 To Panama In Gold Cup Opener [RECAP]

As they struggle to find ways to win while continuing to battle offensive deficiency, El Tri suffered a 2-1 loss to Panama in their Gold Cup opener.

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2 goals from Panama's Gabriel Torres proved to be enough offense for the Panamanians since Mexico wasn't able to match the early tally from the 24-year-old. Torres has a total of 32 goals in 68 appearances with his main club Zamora FC so it's no surprise he was the one leading the early Panama charge.

With the loss, the Mexican national soccer team now has only 2 wins in their last 13 matches (2-3-8).

Scoring in the seventh minute with a penalty kick, Mexico wasn't able to get anything going offensively until stoppage time arrived at the end of the first half. Marco Fabian threw one in off a feed from Israel Hernandez to tie the game at the Pasadena, California Rose Bowl and even though El Tri gained some momentum heading into the break, they weren't able to sustain it for the final half.

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When Torres put his second goal home in the game's 48th-minute, Mexico was in trouble but still had time to even the match. Even though Panama was without premier scorer Blas Perez due to his obligations to MLS club FC Dallas, Mexico still wasn't able to match the 2 Torres tallies.

With much work to be done in order to qualify for the next round, El Tri head coach Jose Manuel De La Torre knows a complete effort on both ends of the field will be needed.

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"We have to analyze the situation and come back in better form and look to get to the next round," De La Torre said to ESPN after the loss. "The main objective is to qualify for the World Cup. Of course, we also have this objective to try and get this Gold Cup title."

"All the teams in the world, teams like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have these types of situations," he continued. "We have to keep working to get back in the best circumstances possible."

Panama will take on Martinique in their next Gold Cup match while El Tri battles Canada. Both matches will be played on Thursday, July 11th in Seattle with the top 2 teams in each group advancing to the next round. Mexico and Panama play out of Group A along with Canada and Martinique.