Honduras beats Panama in penalty kick shootout to reach Gold Cup semis

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Carlos Pineda scored the decisive goal as Honduras beat Panama 5-4 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night.

Honduras advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, where it will face defending champion Mexico. It’s the first time Honduras has made the Gold Cup semis since 2013.

Honduras struggled to generate many scoring opportunities until coming alive late in the second half. Los Catrachos evened the scored in the 82nd minute when Anthony Lozano deflected a shot from Carlos Pineda into the corner of the net following a corner kick.

Both teams made four out of five shots in the initial round of kicks. Honduras had a chance to win with its fifth attempt, but Orlando Mosquera made a diving stop on Lozano's shot.

Panama's Eduardo Guerrero sailed the next penalty kick over the net, giving Honduras another chance to win. This time, Pineda took advantage, burying his shot into the bottom left corner to give Honduras the shootout win.

Panama dominated possession in the first half, but couldn't break through until Cristian Martínez was fouled by Honduras' Edwin Rodríguez in the 44th minute just inside the penalty area. Ismael Díaz took the shot and calmly scored his Gold Cup-leading sixth goal, finding the bottom left corner of the net to give Panama a 1-0 lead.

Panama scored 10 goals in the three games during the group stage, including eight in the first half. With his sixth goal, Díaz passed Gabriel Torres as the Panamanian player with the most goals in a single Gold Cup.

Panama is a three-time Gold Cup runner-up, losing twice in the championship game to the U.S. (2005, 2013) and once to Mexico in 2023. Honduras was runner-up in the inaugural tournament in 1991, losing to the U.S.

It was the first knockout round meeting between the two countries in the Gold Cup.

Panama advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals after winning Group C, beating Guatemala, Jamaica and Guadeloupe. Honduras was the runner-up in Group B, beating Curacao and El Salvador following a 6-0 loss to Canada.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Panama midfielder Tomás Rodríguez (24) runs through Honduras defender Luis Santamaria (26) and Honduras midfielder Kervin Arriaga (5) during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Panama midfielder Andres Andrade (16) kicks the ball during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Honduras, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Honduras midfielder Carlos Pineda (19) celebrates scoring the game-winning penalty kick with Honduras goal keeper Edrick Menjivar (1) and Honduras forward Luis Palma (17) after a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Panama, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Panama players celebrate after Panama forward Ismael Diaz (10) scored a goal during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Honduras, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Honduras forward Romell Quioto (12) and Panama defender Fidel Escobar, right, head the ball during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

Honduras midfielder Carlos Pineda (19) celebrates scoring the game-winning penalty kick with Honduras goal keeper Edrick Menjivar (1) during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Panama, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Samantha Chow)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)