Panama beat USMNT reaction (2024)

The USMNT’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2024 Copa America were dealt a significant blow on Thursday after a shock 2-1 defeat by Panama.

Things got off to a bad start for the US when Tim Weah was shown a straight red card for striking Panama defender Roderick Miller. The Juventus player will now miss the USMNT’s crunch match against Uruguay — plus their quarterfinal match should they qualify.

Despite this the US took the lead when Folarin Balogun curled home a fantastic strike from distance, his second goal in as many games.

But Panama leveled the score through Cesar Blackman moments later and, after the halftime break, they finally made their one-man advantage count when Jose Fajardo smashed home a close-range half-volley.

The USMNT poured forward in the dying moments after Panama’s talisman, Adalberto Carrasquilla, was also sent off for a horrific tackle on Christian Pulisic, but they could not find a second goal to level the score.

The USMNT’s loss leaves them on the brink of an early Copa America exit. They have as many points as Panama but face a much tougher opponent, Uruguay, in their final group-stage match.

After the match the United States Soccer Federation said it was “deeply disturbed” by racist comments directed at USMNT players online. “There is absolutely no place in the game for such hateful and discriminatory behavior,” they said in a statement.

Uruguay have thrashed Bolivia 5-0 in Group C's second match of the night. The result moves Uruguay three points clear at the top of the group's table.

For the USMNT to advance to the knockout stage, their result against Uruguay in the group-stage finale must match or better Panama's result against Bolivia:

• If Panama beat Bolivia, the US must beat Uruguay and will then depend on goal difference (the first tiebreaker)
• If Panama and Bolivia draw, the US would advance with a win or draw
• If Bolivia beat Panama, the US would advance with a win or draw, while a loss would leave goal difference as the determining factor

Panama’s Cesar Blackman wiped Matt 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 No. 1 for a reason — a tough task against Darwin Nunez and Uruguay just got potentially tougher.

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.

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 miss the group finale against Uruguay, and winger is one of the thinnest positions for the USMNT.

An expected goals (or xG) step plot helps to illustrate the balance of each team’s chances created and the shots that transpired, estimating the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal based on a myriad of factors. Throughout the game, the United States actually accumulated a greater total share of xG, edging Panama 1.11-0.74, suggesting they created a better bulk of chances. For example, both first-half goals came on low xG opportunities, a sign of good finishes by Blackman and Balogun.

The most significant chance of the game came in the second half, when a looping cross from Weston McKennie found a backpedaling Ricardo Pepi in the box for a header — registering 0.61 xG. However, the off-balance nature of his attempt made it an easy save for the goalkeeper.

Of course, the game is decided by actual goals and not the expected ones. One hundred and 21 seconds seconds after Pepi’s header, Jose Fajardo put the game away — on a shot that proved to be Panama’s best chance of the night based on xG.

Deep breath! Here’s the rundown…

• 4′: Weston McKennie goal ruled out after video assistant referee (VAR) review. Tim Ream was offside in the build up.
• 12′: USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner knocked to the ground after challenge from Cesar Blackman.
• 18’: Tim Weah sent off for striking Roderick Miller. U.S. down to 10 men.
• 21’: Folarin Balogun curls home from edge of box to put U.S. 1-0 up.
• 26’: Blackman makes it 1-1 with a left-foot strike.
• 45′: Turner is replaced in the U.S. goal by Ethan Horvath as part of a triple substitution by Gregg Berhalter.
• 65’: Panama awarded penalty after Cameron Carter-Vickers lunge. Overturned after another VAR.
• 83’: Jose Fajardo scores half-volley to give Panama a 2-1 lead.
• 88’: Adalberto Carrasquilla sent off for Panama after challenge on Christian Pulisic.

U.S. Soccer has issued a statement condemning racist abuse online aimed at several USMNT players after tonight’s match.

The statement said: “U.S. Soccer is aware of and deeply disturbed by the racist comments made online and directed at several of our Men’s National Team players following tonight’s match.

“There is absolutely no place in the game for such hateful and discriminatory behavior. These actions are not only unacceptable but also contrary to the values of respect and inclusivity that we uphold as an organization.

“U.S. Soccer stands firmly against racism in all forms and will continue to support our players.”

Gregg Berhalter was asked after the match whether the USMNT players were overexcited for the match or feeling pressure: "I don’t think so. We talked beforehand about the tendencies of this referee, we knew what he’s capable of, and to be honest, I think we played right into his hands. We made that decision pretty easy. Tim (Weah) got bumped, he got checked, and he reacted. He apologized to the group and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in. Nonetheless, it happened and as a result we lost this game. We’re gonna have to move on and figure out how to win.

"(Weah) spoke to the group. I’ll speak to him, but I think he knows the implications of that and he knows he made a mistake. He’s an ultimate team player. He stood up and he took accountability for it right away and we’ll move on."

On Cesar Blackman's collision with Matt Turner that injured the goalkeeper: "It was a nice challenge by the attacker that didn’t even get a caution, which was really surprising. Think about that: he knocks Matt out of the game and nothing. But again, that is what it is. But Matt couldn’t continue on.

"We don’t know (Turner's) status. We’ll get a report from the medical team later this evening. We’re not sure. Either way, we know we’re gonna have to put in a really good performance."

Chris Richards and Tyler Adams both spoke about the prospect of needing a win against Uruguay to advance to the quarterfinals.

Richards: "We have to beat Uruguay. I think if we want to go far in this tournament, we have to be teams like Uruguay anyway. Just another chance for us to show why we deserve to be in the next round."

Adams: "I know how intense that game is gonna be, man-to-man all over the pitch. Obviously I played in Leeds (under current Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa) and I know how high intensity they can play, and (Bielsa) has brought that quality now to Uruguay.

"We know we’re going to need to be at our best, but at the end of the day, we can compete when we have 11 players on the field. It’s going to be a completely different game.

"It is a good feeling knowing you have to go into your game and win it. There can’t be any other result. We know we have to get the job done: three points no matter what it is, and if we don’t get three points, we’re banking on other results — and you don’t want to be in that circ*mstance."

Chris Richards was asked whether he was surprised by Tim Weah's red card: "Yes and no. I think playing against teams like Panama, it’s what they’re trying to do. But again, we can’t overreact like that. Suddenly, it cost the team. I know he’s hurting right now. I know he regrets it. But again, playing against teams like Panama, they’re always gonna try to bait you like that, so we have to be better."

On playing against a CONCACAF opponent with a CONCACAF referee: "That sums it up. Every time we have this ref, something like that happens, so I don’t know how we keep getting him, but it is what it is. We have to do better, long story short. You can blame the ref, but we still lost the game so we have to do better and can’t let these things happen against Uruguay."

Tim Weah has posted an apology on his Instagram:

"Today, I let my team and my country down.

"A moment of frustration led to an irreversible consequence, and for that, I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans.

"Moving forward, I am committed to learning from this experience, not allowing an opponent to provoke me, and working to regain the trust and respect of my team and supporters.

"No matter what I will always fight for my team and my country till the day I'm no longer needed or capable to! I sincerely apologize to everyone

"My love for this team goes beyond just football and I'm so sad and angry at myself for putting my brothers through what they went through tonight."

Christian Pulisic also spoke about needing a result against Uruguay: "I don’t feel pressure for it. Just like every game. If a win against Uruguay is what we need and that’s what we have to go do… We’re privileged to be in this position and have this opportunity to represent our country, so I feel lucky to go into games like that. I’m excited for it."

On how the team accepts the challenge of facing Uruguay: "Just as we accept any challenge. We have to go and we have to represent our country with passion and pride. We have to go and play the best game of our lives, and that’s it. We want to go and we want to win — we want to continue this competition."

Asked whether that match feels like a knockout game, he responded: "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Christian Pulisic reacted to the USMNT's defeat: "Disappointing, of course. A win tonight would have put us in a great position, and unfortunately the opposite happened. Honestly, proud of the effort that we responded with after what happened, but just really disappointed that that’s the way that we that did it."

On Tim Weah's red card: "Timmy knows the mistake he made. That’s it. He’s gonna learn from it. Yeah, it sucks. It’s not the way you want to put your team in that position. It sucks. It hurts and it’s just the minimum: it’s a lapse of judgment. It’s just one simple second, you respond to something."

On the team's struggles to keep the ball after going down a man: "It’s not so easy to keep the ball. They were high-pressing us as soon as we got the ball, and (against) a man extra, it’s never gonna be easy. We had to play long balls at times."

Folarin Balogun spoke to Fox after the defeat: "Huge disappointment, I think you can see by our reaction. We felt there were a few things that went against us, of course the red card, but we probably could have had a few decisions, but that's the nature of the game."

On the end of the match, which included a red card and two yellow cards for Panama: "Towards the end it got a bit silly. It's obviously the referee's job to manage the match and you can't control it but I didn't think the way the game was finished was in a professional manner."

Berhalter on the USMNT needing a result against Uruguay: "We know we have to go out there and get a result and we’ll go to do it. We believe in this group as a strong team. I think if we stay focused and stick to or execute a game plan, we’ll be OK.

"We have a ton of respect for Uruguay. We think they’re a strong team. But there’s a lot of strong teams in this tournament."

He also spoke about the pressure to get out of the group stage as the tournament's hosts as compared to the pressure the team faced against the Netherlands in the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup: "Well, that’s what we want to do but you know, pressure is part of what we what we sign up for. That’s part of this job. Representing the national team is a tremendous honor and you know there’s a lot of expectations that come along with it.

"Today, it was an extremely disappointing result, but the effort was there. If we put in the same type of effort in this game, in terms of the work effort and togetherness, we’ll have a shot to beat Uruguay. We know it’s going to be difficult, but we’re going to do our best."

Our subscribers have their say on who is most to blame for the USA’s shock loss:

Trey A: “Yeah, Weah deserves blame but Gregg Berhalter could not have managed that game any worse. Bringing on a third center-back and parking the bus just invites pressure. He should have brought Musah on, you need players that can relieve pressure when you’re down a man.”

Christopher B: “Weah deserves lots of blame, but so does Berhalter. This isn't the first time a US player under Berhalter has lost their cool, thrown hands, and been red carded. If the players truly respected each other and their coach, this wouldn't happen. Beyond his piss poor subs and general handling of being a man down, Berhalter is clearly not a leader the players respect.”

Gavin A: “This loss is Weah’s fault, but we should’ve won. Berhalter poor choices: Pulisic playing as a CM. Subbing out our best player of the night, Balogun, when he had plenty more to give. Putting Cardoso in over Musah. The CCV substitution.”

Make sure you get involved, too. Subscribers can leave a comment by clicking on the ‘discuss’ tab above. And those of you yet to subscribe can email livebloguk@theathletic.com.

Asked whether the USMNT should have done better after Panama tied the match, Berhalter responded: "It’s not even down the stretch (that Panama was threatening to win) — it’s down to this one moment. When you look at the stats, you look at the chances that we gave up. there was really only that one moment that the guy gets an open look.

"We didn’t deal with the first ball very well. We didn’t deal with the second ball very well. You know, too much space between our center backs on the cross. Besides that, we’re talking about very, very little production from Panama and a really tremendous effort by the guys to work for each other, keep our shape, and keep moving."

Gregg Berhalter echoed Tyler Adams' comments about the USMNT's effort playing down a man: "I can’t fault the effort of the group, especially after going down the man. The guys dug in, and we were close to coming out with a point. But you know, it’s a shame, because there was more in this game.

"A silly decision by Timmy that leaves us shorthanded, and then you have the whole thing that’s moving with the referee throughout the game. It led to some strange, strange circ*mstances, for sure."