USA Vs. Panama, Gold Cup 2011, Group C: Panama Defeats USMNT 2-1

In case watching it once wasn’t bad enough, the Unites States Soccer Federation has compiled this wonderful video that really seems to perfectly capture just how ridiculous Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Panama was. There are so many missed chances. So many blown assignments. So many things that really should be going different that didn’t that this has to go down as the worst result in modern American soccer history. Watch for yourself:

Where does the USA go from here? Well, no qualifying for the knockout stages of the Gold Cup would be a complete and utter disaster. Bob Bradley probably already deserves to be fired, but there is a chance for redemption. Failing to beat Guadaloupe would have to be the final straw.

The United States national team lost to Panama on Saturday night. It was the first time that they have ever lost in the group stages of Gold Cup play. They lost the game because, for a majority of the game, Panama was the better team. Their attacking players made more of their opportunities, while their defense made less mistakes.

While the USMNT was good for the final half hour of the game, they were outplayed during the opening 60. They also missed quality chances, the most egregious miss coming from Chris Wondolowski, who skied a sitter. It was the kind of opportunity that he has become known for burying after the last 18 months, and his finishing is above all other qualities why he was selected to play for this team.

Guadeloupe takes on the United States in the final game of Gold Cup group play, and anything but a win will be unacceptable for the USMNT. Their tournament is not over, but it’s possible that both their potential seeding and their confidence have been adversely effected by tonight’s events.

It appears that set pieces are the best way that the United States has to challenge the Panamanian goal, which isn’t exactly a new development. The USMNT have always scored a solid percentage of their goals on dead balls, and they’ll need at least one more goal to feel okay about tonight’s result.

The United States are starting to get desperate, as they’ve done nothing to cut into Panama’s 2-0 lead after 15 minutes in the second half. As a result, Bob Bradley has opted to make two substitutions to change up his team, going a bit more attacking minded. Sacha Kljestan, an attack-minded central midfielder has replaced Jermaine Jones, a defensive-minded central midfielder, while winger Alejandro Bedoya has replaced striker Juan Agudelo.

That latter sub should move Clint Dempsey up into a second striker’s role, something Bob Bradley has done on numerous occasions. Just a couple of minutes after entering the game, Bedoya was able to get involved, but not in a positive way. He went down in the penalty area, looking for a spot kick, but the referee made the correct decision by not granting the penalty and instead booking Bedoya for diving. Time is starting to run out on the United States, and they need their subs to make an instant impact.

Most expected the USMNT to get through this Gold Cup group with nine points in minimal incident, but after the first 45 minutes tonight, that appears to be incredibly unlikely. Unless, they can produce miracles in the second half, they will likely go to Kansas City with some serious pressure on against Guadeloupe.

Tim Ream gifted Panama the second goal, taking down Blas Perez in the box with a terrible attempt at a 50-50 ball. Gabriel Gomez stepped up to take the penalty and converted, and that’s why Panama has gone into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

It’s unclear if it was Goodson or Tejada who got the final touch on the ball, but the goal is being credited to Tejada at this point of time. The marking by the United States was truly awful, and Bob Bradley will be seriously frustrated with his team after they allowed such an easily preventable goal.

The USMNT has more of the possession in the early going, and they haven’t allowed Blas Perez and company to get out in space on the ball. Much like the game against Canada, there’s an obvious difference between the current Tim Ream-Clarence Goodson central defense pairing than any before it as far as distribution goes. Their ability to hold and pass the ball has been impressive, especially given the fact that Goodson’s play on the ball was considered questionable when he first came into MLS years ago. As long as the US can keep possession, Panama will have a very hard time scoring.

It wasn’t the prettiest performance in the world, but Canada did enough to get a win tonight in the Gold Cup, seriously aiding their chances at advancing to the quarterfinals of the competition. The fans - and no doubt the players as well - would have liked a more convincing victory, but three points is three points, and Canada walk away with a 1-0 win.

In the 4th minute, defender Jean-Luc Lambourde of Guadeloupe picked up a straight red card for a nasty tackle on Will Johnson, and it appeared at that moment that it would be an easy game for Canada. However, they failed to capitalize on their man advantage for the entirety of the first half and they walked into the locker room with the score a disappointing 0-0.

United States lineup: Howard; Bocanegra, Ream, Goodson, Cherundolo; Donovan, Bradley, Jones, Dempsey; Altidore, Agudelo

Panama lineup: Penedo; Baloy, L. Henriquez, Torres, Dasent, Gomez, Barahona, A. Henriquez, Cooper, Tejada, Perez