- Panama earned one of their country’s greatest victories as they defeated the tournament hosts 2-1.
- Uruguay and Bolivia play later tonight to finish matchday two of Group C.
Highlights
- Florian Balogun scores his second goal of the tournament, putting the U.S. up 1-0 after his team went down to 10-men.
- Panama would instantly respond, tying the match in the 26’.
- Los Canaleros would then secure a famous victory through Jose Fajardo when he scored the match winner in the 83’.
Match summary
A packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia set the scene for the Concacaf clash between the United States and Panama on June 27 during the second matchday of Group C.
Panama had the first good chance of the match when Yoel Bárcenas attempted an overhead kick that flew over Matt Turner’s net but the United States’ Weston Mckennie would be the first to put the ball in the opposing team’s goal, appearing to score in the 5’.
Following an excellent free-kick delivery from Christian Pulisic, Chris Richard’s header rattled the Panamanian cross bar before Tim Ream passed the rebound to McKennie who curled the ball in the upper corner. It seemed the U.S. had earned another early goal, but Ream was deemed to be offside, and the match remained 0-0.
14 minutes later, the United States would go down to 10-men following a red card to forward Tim Weah. It wouldn’t slow the Americans down however as Florian Balogun scored his second CONMEBOL Copa Amércia™ goal in the 22’. The Monaco man hit a screamer from the edge of the Panama box to give his country the early lead. Panama however would respond four minutes later through Cesar Blackman, who scored when his shot from the top of the box sneaked past Turner in goal.
The rest of the first half saw the two teams trade chances with Panama dominating more of the ball with their man advantage.
Into the second half, the United States made three changes including in goal with Ethan Horvath coming in for Turner. In the 63’, Panama thought they had won a penalty when Jose Fajardo went down in the United States box, but after consulting VAR, referee Iván Barton deemed there to be no contact and the match continued at 1-1. From there, the match turned up an even higher notch.
The best chance for the United States in the second half fell to Ricardo Pepi in the 81’, when he received a cross from McKennie on a counter, but the young striker couldn’t finish the chance. Minutes later, Fajardo scored the go-ahead goal for Panama against their Concacaf rivals in the 83’ with a brilliant one touch finish. A frantic finish followed with Panama also going down to 10-men following Adalberto Carrasquilla’s red card in the 88’. The Americans would push desperately for an equalizer but it wasn’t to be, and Panama celebrated an incredible victory against the tournament’s hosts.
Watch Panama 2-1 USA Match Highlights
What’s next?
The United States ends the Group Stage with a massive battle against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay on July 1 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri while Panama faces off against Bolivia the same day at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Lineups:
United States: Turner; Robinson, Richards, Ream, Scally; Reyna, Adams, McKennie, Weah, Balogun, Pulisic
Used substitutes: Horvath, Carter-Vickers, Cardoso, Pepi, Sargent
Cards: Weah (Red), Robinson (Yellow), Richards (Yellow)
Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Panama: Mosquera; Murillo, Farina, Cordoba, Miller, Davis; Barcenas, Carrasquilla, Martinez, Blackman; Guerrero
Used substitutes: Fajardo, Gondola, Ayarza,
Cards: Guerrero (Yellow), Carrasquilla (Red), Farina (Yellow), Gondola (Yellow)
Coach: Thomas Christiansen
Goals: 22’, Florian Balogun (U), 26’, Cesar Blackman (P), 83’ Jose Fajardo (P)
Superior Player of the Match Michelob ULTRA: Folarin Balogun (USA)
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
