USMNT vs. Panama Breakdown

This year, while baseball’s finest trek back from T-Mobile Park in Seattle (after a stopover in Hollywood for this year’s ESPY Awards,) The Beautiful Game takes the limelight in San Diego. Snapdragon Stadium, the home grounds of the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, will play host to its first two CONCACAF Gold Cup matches on Wednesday.

FINAL FOUR

Pick your finalists 👇 pic.twitter.com/jXhnHRs3Zu

— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 11, 2023

For the United States Men’s National Team, it’s their biggest 90 minutes plus stoppage time (at minimum) of football this year. It’s also a renewal of the most frequent pairing in the Gold Cup.

USMNT and Panama Meet in 26th All-Time Confrontation Wednesday

After a heart attack affair versus Canada in the semifinals last Sunday night in Cincinnati, the Stars and Stripes travel to the west coast to take on Panama in the semifinal. Live coverage of Wednesday night’s game begins at 7:30 pm ET/ 4:30 pm PT on FOX Sports’ cabler, FS1 in English. Spanish-language commentary will air on TUDN.

The winner of the early game advances to Sunday night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, where they’ll face the victor of the late game between Mexico and Panama in Inglewood, CA. Unlike the CONCACAF Nations League preceding this tournament, the Gold Cup has no consolation match for third place ahead of the final, having eliminated the third-place game ahead of the 2017 Gold Cup.

USMNT vs. Panama: The Series So Far

Panama and the USMNT are quite familiar with one another in this event. Wednesday’s contest marks the 12th head-to-head meeting between them in the Gold Cup since 1993. Counting all competitions, the Americans have held serve against Panama over the past 30 years, having gone 18-4-3 in the previous 25 matches.

After not playing Panama in the 2021 Gold Cup, the Stars and Stripes split two CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers with their upcoming opponents in the cycle leading up to Qatar.

They haven’t battled on the pitch in more than 15 months ahead of the Wednesday semifinal. In March of last year, the Americans essentially assured themselves of a World Cup berth with a 5-1 disposal of Panama in Orlando. How will it go this time?

USMNT Need a Quick Start Wednesday

Let’s speak bluntly about the United States’ performance on Sunday versus Canada in Cincinnati: It wasn’t a banner game by any means. Although they scored the win to put themselves in this match, it should have never gotten to penalty kicks.

Interim manager BJ Callaghan only has two matches left (at the most) in charge of this team before Gregg Berhalter returns ahead of the September international window. Depending upon how the Stars and Stripes fare the rest of the way, he might get some looks for more permanent managerial jobs. Thus, he’ll have to preach his men on the dangers of a slow start and careless style of play.

Panama has brought the lunch pail throughout the Gold Cup, so the USMNT will need to be on the top of its game right from the opening whistle on Wednesday. If not, Panama could pounce on them early.

Will Vazquez Step Up Again?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, Sunday’s USMNT/ Canada tilt was not for the faint of heart. After displaying a “Bend but Don’t Break” attitude for the majority of regulation, striker Brandon Vazquez converted on a header to give the United States a short-lived 1-0 lead.

BRANDON VAZQUEZ GOAL 🇺🇸🦅 Drives home powerful header in front of hometown fans. Looked a threat since subbing on in 2nd half.pic.twitter.com/9ZzfFG2Lve

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 10, 2023

Although Vazquez’ tally didn’t stand up, this is a man who can make opponents give up a goal if they’re not careful. It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s a substitute in this match.

From the moment he takes the pitch until he’s subbed off, Vazquez can make one heck of an impact. Look for him to have a great night in the semifinal.

Don’t Discount Panama Heading into Gold Cup Semifinals

In the other corner, don’t let Panama’s No. 57 ranking fool you going into Wednesday night’s contest. These guys are tough customers at the shop. Qatar found this out the hard way in the quarterfinals.

As invited guests of CONCACAF to this Gold Cup, Qatar’s time against Panama was inhospitable. They had no chance in Arlington over the weekend, getting eliminated 4-0.

There’s no denying that Panama are a group of men on a mission. A performance mirroring the one seen on Saturday night at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium will be the spark for a stunning upset. Can they carry the momentum into Wednesday night?

Yoel Barcenas Hunting for Another Hat Trick

Panama’s offensive attack was buoyed last Saturday evening by winger Yoel Barcenas. Much like Jesus Ferreira of the USMNT, he scored a hat trick en route to the win. Ahead of the semifinal, Ferreira and Barcenas are first and second, respectively, in goals scored.

Given the lackadaisical play on Sunday evening, it stands to reason that Yoel Barcenas could exploit the weaknesses of the Stars and Stripes if they get behind the 8-ball. If the Americans slip up, look for Barcenas to get into the open field.

All this guy needs is just a little bit of daylight. As long as Barcenas gets open, he can take the USMNT to the cleaners.

Final Thoughts

The United States had it fairly easy through the group stage but had trouble against Canada. This is a vulnerable team right now,

They can’t count on scraping by in a knockout stage match. Eventually, their luck will run out.

Sunday’s final is in Inglewood, CA. As long as the USMNT gets out to a fast start and neutralizes Panama, they’ll be in line to extend their stay in California through the weekend.

Prediction: USMNT 3, Panama 1.