US Falls to Panama 2-1
The US lose their first ever game during the group stage of the Gold Cup to Panama 2-1 on a Saturday night in Tampa Bay.
The US came out of the gate extremely slow and Panama took advantage, putting the US on the defensive early. The Yanks played right into their opponent’s hands, constantly turning the ball over time after time and then giving Panama a lot of space to send balls over the top to their forwards. The US backline was completely lost and could not halt the Panama attack. Goodson and Ream were not communicating at all, which left huge gaps for Luis Tejada and Blas Perez to exploit.
This porous defense quickly resulted in a 1-0 lead for Panama. The goal was absolutely atrocious from a US perspective. First the US gave away a free header right in front of the net, which Howard managed to make a finger tip save on. However, he gave up a juicy rebound, allowing Luis Tejada to poke the ball into the back of the net. Goodson had a chance to clear the ball before Tejada got to it, but he completely whiffed. As a result Panama went a goal in front in the 19th minute.
The US then responded with some energy as Clint 
The 2nd half kicked off just like the 1st half ended with the US giving up the ball in the midfield and Panama quickly countering and creating goal scoring chances. The US did weather the storm and finally made their imprint on the match once Coach Bradley made some substitutions. Once, Sacha Kljestan and Alejandro Bedoya came on for Jermaine Jones and Agudelo the game completely opened up. A goal finally came for the Yanks in the 67th minute off a Landon Donovan free kick. Michael Bradley flicked the ball with his head, which found Goodson on the back post, who connected on a diving header.
The US finally was the aggressor towards the end of the game, creating chance after chance. It looked like they were destined to level the match and Chris Wondolowski had the best opportunity to do so after coming on for Goodson in the 78th minute. A great build up by the US saw Altidore make a hard low cross into the box from the right wing. Wondolowski was right in front of a wide open net and all he had to do was re-direct the ball below the bar. He failed to do this, as his attempt somehow skied over the net. The unfortunate breaks continued for the US as Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan both missed clear-cut scoring chances late.
It was not the Yanks day today, as they lost the game 2-1 to Panama and as a result fall 3 points off the group lead.
Quick Notes:
Was the US not prepared for Panama’s game plan to sit back and then counter?
It looked like the US was so unprepared for this match. They were panicked and indecisive in possession and thus they continued to give Panama the ball in the midfield. Then, once they lost ball, the US did not close down as a collective group and gave Panama loads of time to do whatever they want. Goodson and Ream were in two different hemispheres, allowing attackers to make runs by them all day long. It wasn’t until Panama sat very deep late to try to hold on to the lead did the US look like an actual team. Pathetic performance, especially in the first half
Jozy Alitdore was HORRIBLE
The guy refuses to check to the ball and instead insists on midfielders to play him long balls, which rarely work. He is a statue out there. Altidore added zero to the attack. He had one good run, which should have resulted in a Wondolowski game-tying goal, but if he were to pick his head up, he could have played a nice easy ball on the ground to Landon who was 5 yards away from goal. I don’t know what Jozy needs to do to improve his game, but moving may be a start
Clint Dempsey is showing why he is the new leader of the US Men’s National Team
Dempsey was hustling all over the pitch, trying to will the US back into this match. Time after time he got his head or foot on the end of a cross that almost resulted in a goal. In stoppage time, he headed a ball that was destined for the top corner of the net but Panama’s keeper mad a nice diving save. Clint was also creating in the midfield, facilitating the offense, which Bradley failed to do tonight
Agudelo with another underrated performance
‘Delo continues to work hard and check into the right spots on the field. He has to learn that he can’t take everyone on one v one, but if it were not for the ridiculous referee tonight, he would have drawn more foul calls. I don’t know why Bradley decided to take him out because I assure you Agudelo would have finished the chance that Wondo snuffed right in front of goal. Just look back at the South Africa and Argentina friendlies if you don’t believe me.
The head ref was ridiculous tonight
I don’t know what Panamanian government official paid off this ref, but it must have happened. The US got zero calls at the beginning of this match and just seemed like Panama got every break. Panama was rolling around the pitch crying and the ref totally bought into it. He also completely lost control of the game. It looked like a backyard game between my friends, and me where we ref each other and every controversial play becomes a huge argument and by the end it’s a free for all. Overall, it was a horrible performance by the ref. I will give him kudos for catching the Bedoya dive in the box. That’s not an easy call to make.
What was Coach Bradley doing with his substitutions?
I agree with the players he brought on (Kljestan, Bedoya, and Wondolowski) and even with his aggressive mindset to put Dempsey up top and to switch to a 3-4-3 at the end of the match. But what was he thinking taking the always-dangerous Agudelo and the best goal scorer from set pieces Clarence Goodson out of the match. Goodson even scored in this match. Ream and Altidore were clearly the guys that should have come off. As I mentioned before Altidore was a statue out there and Ream had a real shaky night. Bradley must be scrutinized for these decisions.
Jermaine Jones is clueless
He might be un-coachable. Jones reminds me of Allen Iverson, the guy just does whatever he wants out there on the pitch with a total disregard to the team philosophy. How many balls over the top is he going to play to realize that at this level those balls don’t work. Jones was horrendous and Bradley has to seriously consider a change there. The surprising thing was this is after Michael Bradley and Jones had such a special game against Canada.
