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One of the immediate hurdles faced by Mauricio Pochettino, the United States’ new coach, was the problem Panama posed for his squad in major continental tournaments.
Though Pochettino began his tenure with a 2-0 win against Panama on 12 October, Los Canaleros defeated the United States in two previous meetings: 2-1 during group play in last year’s Copa América – a loss that led to Gregg Berhalter’s firing as the United States’ coach – and 5-4 in penalties after a 1-1 draw in the semi-finals of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
On Thursday at SoFi Stadium, Panama added another to the list, becoming the first team in the seven-year history of the Concacaf Nations League to prevent the United States from winning that tournament.
Ceclio Waterman scored in second-half stoppage time to give a 1-0 semi-final victory to Panama, who now have a chance to win the Nations League for the first time Sunday by defeating Canada or Mexico in the final. The United States, meanwhile, will play for third place Sunday.
Waterman, who entered the game in the 70th minute, received a pass from Adalberto Carrasquilla and fired a 15-yard diagonal shot from the right side of the penalty area past diving goalkeeper Matt Turner and inside the far post.
Following the goal, the now-jerseyless Waterman jumped over the advertising barriers and embraced a stunned Thierry Henry, who was at the Paramount+ desk as an analyst. About half a dozen joyous teammates joined in the fun.
The United States were not without their chances to score, and Patrick Agyemang in particular will rue those misses. The Charlotte FC striker entered the match two minutes before Waterman and had two late chances, with the best opportunity coming in the 82nd minute.
Weston McKennie began the potential scoring sequence by intercepting a pass intended for Carrasquilla and sending the ball to Agyemang. After fighting off Panamanian defender Carlos Harvey, Agyemang forced goalkeeper Orlando Mosqueda to dive left to deflect a decently-placed effort on the run.
Then in the 88th minute, Christian Pulisic chested McKennie’s pass while on the right flank, dribbled into the penalty area and crossed to Agyemang, who used his right instep to launch a close-range shot high over the crossbar.
With Fulham left back Antonee Robinson unavailable for the United States because of an unspecified injury, Pochettino started a three-man backline of Tim Ream, Joe Scally and Chris Richards, with Yunus Musah and Tim Weah serving as wingbacks. The United States began by applying intense high pressure early and often, reducing Panama to launching long balls from the back or trying to generate offense by forcing turnovers.
That pressure nearly generated two goals in the 20th minute. First, Josh Sargent took a 12-yard shot that deflected off the right leg of Panamanian defender Edgardo Farina and the base of the right post. Mosquera batted the ball away before Cristian Martínez cleared it. Weston McKennie followed with a four-yard header into Mosquera’s midsection.
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