Panama shocked the Concacaf community with 1-1 (5-4) upset against the US men's national team, eliminating the American side to advance to the 2023 Gold Cup final.
Panama thought they had the breakthrough when Edgar Barcenas caught the USA backline asleep from a set piece, putting the ball past Matt Turner in the back of the net. But Barcenas was in an offside position, and both sides remained knotted at 0-0.
The first half was similar to the first 45 against Canada, with the US fortunate to not be behind - other than the first 30 seconds of the game as Cade Cowell's shot that struck the post.
No goals separated the two nations after 90 minutes, which meant that the Stars and Stripes were about to play 120 minutes for the second consecutive game in three days. On the other hand, Panama were still fresher than the US as they took care of business against Qatar in normal time.
It took 99 minutes, but the Panamanians broke the deadlock with a brilliant piece of individual skill from extra time substitute Ivan Anderson. Anderson was just onside and broke down the right-wing and chipped the ball over Turner before putting it in the back of an open goal. The game plan by Panama was paying off, and it was clear to see that the USMNT were running out of steam.
But Jesus Ferreira put the US on his back and scored his seventh goal of the tournament with a spectacular volleyed shot that left Orlando Mosquera no chance of saving. While Vazquez was subbed off earlier, Ferreira may have proved why interim head coach B.J. Callaghan chose to keep him on.
Both sides were kept at bay for the remainder of extra time, meaning a penalty shootout was on the cards and the second straight scenario for USA. However, Matt Turner wasn't able to recreate his heroics from the penalty shootout against Canada as he made one save, but the US' penalty takers were unable to keep up with Panama's. The Panamanians shocked the USMNT and advance to their third-ever Gold Cup final on July 16, where they will face the winner of Jamaica vs. Mexico.
USA player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Matt Turner - 6/10 - Despite Panama controlling the possession, he didn't make many saves but did come up with a crucial stop from a close-range header. There wasn't much he could do on Anderson's goal as he was hung out to dry by his defense.
LB: DeJuan Jones - 6/10 - Didn't have the best of performances, but was steady and grew into the game.
CB: Aaron Long - 5/10 - Made a couple of errors in the first half but got better as the game wore on.
CB: Miles Robinson - 5/10 - Like Long, he had a couple of shaky moments on the ball with some botched clearances.
RB: Bryan Reynolds - 5/10 - Struggled defensively with Panama's wingbacks, and didn't get many chances to go forward like he did in previous games.
CM: Djordje Mihailovic - 6/10 - Had another solid showing in the middle of the park.
CM: James Sands - 6/10 - Did a lot of the dirty work as he usually does, not putting a foot wrong in the midfield.
CM: Gianluca Busio - 6/10 - Was tasked to do a lot more defending than usual due to Panama controlling possession for large parts of the game.
LW: Cade Cowell - 6/10 - Hit the post 30 seconds in and came so close to assisting Brandon Vazquez after a brilliant solo run. Was unlucky to not feature for the full 90.
ST: Brandon Vazquez - 7/10 - In his first start of the competition, he was a little rusty at times but his hold up play was excellent and should've stayed on for the full game.
RW: Jesus Ferreira - 7/10 - The FC Dallas man was effective early on out wide, linking up with Vazquez but faltered as the game went on. He scored a fantastic volleyed goal to level the game in the first half of extra time, his seventh of the competition.
Substitutes
RB: DeAndre Yedlin (63' for Bryan Reynolds) - 6/10 - Made a great cutback pass after being substituted on and continued to send crosses in.
LW: Cristian Roldan (63' for Cade Cowell) - 5/10 - The Seattle Sounders player neither helped or hindered his side, until he missed the penalty.
CB: Matt Miazga (74' for Aaron Long) - 3/10 - Even though it's not his primary responsibility, he had a golden chance to put a shot on target but skied his effort. Made a strange/rude gesture toward a Panama player during the shootout that came back to bite him.
RW: Jordan Morris (74' for Brandon Vazquez) - 7/10 - Was an effective sub as he provided the assist for Ferreira's goal with a lovely header.
LB: John Tolkin (104' for DeJuan Jones) - N/A.
LW: Julian Gressel (104' for Gianluca Busio) - 6/10 - Converted his penalty but it wasn't enough.
Manager
B.J. Callaghan - 5/10 - The interim boss finally gave Vazquez a start, but subbed him off in favor of Jordan Morris in a questionable move at the time. Putting Yedlin on did help, though, and maybe his decision to keep Ferreira on instead of Vazquez somewhat worked out, but it wasn't enough to reach the final.
Player of the game - Orlando Mosquera (Panama)
This article was originally published on 90min as USA 1-1 Panama (4-5): Player ratings as Panama eliminate the USMNT in penalties .
