A goal called back. An 18th-minute red card. A brilliant goal. An equalizer. A goalkeeper substitution. A penalty whistled, then called back. A devastating goal given up in the final minutes of the game. Another red card.
Thursday night’s Copa América contest between the U.S. men’s national team and Panama was not lacking for drama.
The U.S. went into the night hoping they would get a win against their CONCACAF rivals and secure passage through to the knockout stages. Instead they had to survive almost the whole night playing a man down, then suffered a final blow in the 83rd minute on a Jose Fajardo goal that gave Panama a 2-1 win.
The result puts the U.S.’s Copa América on life support as they prepare to close out the group against Uruguay on Monday in Kansas City.
Deep breath! Here’s the rundown…
Weah lost his cool away from the ball and hit Panama’s Roderick Miller in the back of the head. The result, after a VAR review, was a straight red card. It immediately changed the scope of the game and the challenge for the U.S. team.
The off-ball shove was very unlike Weah. It was the second red card of his career, with the only other one coming in March 2022 with Lille for a tackle that landed him a two-game suspension.
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter had to make some adjustments at halftime to try to see the game out. Matt Turner was subbed off due to injury, with Ethan Horvath coming in, but Berhalter also called on Cameron Carter-Vickers to replace Gio Reyna, and Johnny Cardoso for Tyler Adams, as he moved to a 5-3-1 formation that mostly conceded possession and tried to stay in organized defensive lines to see out the result.
Weah will now also be absent for the group finale against Uruguay, and winger is one of the thinnest positions for the USMNT.
Paul Tenorio
Sometimes, all a struggling striker needs is one goal to get back on track.
After a difficult first season with AS Monaco, Folarin Balogun had a difficult set of performances in the tune-up friendlies, and was largely ineffective throughout his shift against Bolivia. He did, however, manage to make one crucial touch — a prod through a defender’s legs that gave the USMNT an insurance goal.
Four days later, he found the back of the net for a second consecutive game, although this one brought far more of an aesthetic approach than his last.
Already playing down a man, Balogun initiated a give-and-go with Antonee Robinson at the edge of the box. The build-up didn’t quite follow the intended plan, as Balogun’s second pass back to his left back caught Robinson’s heel. Fortunately, it went right back to the striker, who took advantage of some rare space from defenders to curl a shot to the far post and rejuvenate hope among the USMNT and its fans.
After struggling to find the ball against Bolivia, Balogun was far more involved. In the time between Weah’s dismissal and Berhalter’s halftime triple substitution, only two players logged more touches than Balgoun’s 14. He showed enough defensive industry to remain on the field to start the second half — even though both Ricardo Pepi and Josh Sargent are known for their pressing acumen along the front line.
After the changes, however, Balogun understandably struggled to make an impact. He was a worthy running mate with Pulisic for any counter attacks, and sent a rare shot from a tough angle just wide of the post before the 70th minute. Soon afterwards, he was replaced by Pepi to get a fresh spear for the front-line press. Balogun left the pitch to considerable ovation — a worthy reward from a fanbase who has long been begging for a clinical forward like Balogun is becoming.
Jeff Rueter
Matt Turner is the USMNT’s Mr. Dependable. Firmly first-choice, the 30-year-old has started every game in competitive tournament football for his county since the 2022 World Cup.
He may have had a tough year at Nottingham Forest, where he lost his place last season and was benched for the Premier League club’s last 16 games of the campaign, but on the international stage the gloves are his.
It’s why hearts were in mouths in the U.S. dug-out the moment Panama’s Cesar Blackman wiped Turner out in the 12th minute of a fractious first-half in Atlanta.
The New Jersey-native landed heavily on his right shoulder and stayed down. It looked painful although the medical attention seemed to focus on his knee.
That could partly explain why 10 minutes later he was a vital half-second slow getting across to Blackman’s strike that squeezed inside his right post.
Turner, who hasn’t been injured since fracturing his foot in April 2022, has kept 25 clean sheets in 42 games for the U.S. and is one of the group’s leaders. If he is now to miss the crucial Group C game against Uruguay it will be a major headache for Berhalter.
Ethan Horvath is an experienced deputy but should have done better with Panama’s second goal. Turner is Number One for a reason — a tough task against Darwin Nunez and Uruguay just got potentially tougher.
Greg O’Keeffe
Entering the tournament, this matchup looked like it would be the most pivotal of any in Group C. Bolivia was the favorable opponent to build momentum. Uruguay always figured to be the favorite of the quartet. Whoever won this game then figured to be on firmer footing to advance to the quarterfinal — and, after a series of unfortunate events from a USMNT perspective, that’s Panama’s foothold to own.
Regardless of what transpires when Uruguay faces Bolivia later tonight, the United States almost certainly needs to get a result from its group stage finale to extend its tournament beyond the group stage. In all honesty, they may need a win to pull off the great escape. Panama will fancy its chances of logging a win against Bolivia, and six points would certainly see them through.
All told, this will go down as a shocking defeat under unusual circumstances. One can only wonder how differently this group and the USMNT’s tournament as a whole could have gone if he hadn’t thrown his arm at the back of an opponent’s head.
