Panama gave the surprise in the Gold Cup and took out the United States in the semifinal after defeating USA Team on penalties and Mexico will be measured in the final of the Concacaf tournament. For the United States it is a big setback since they were the current champions of the tournament and also of the Concacaf Nations League.
The last time the Stars and Stripes team missed the 2015 Gold Cup final when the Americans fell to Jamaica 2-1 in 90 minutes.
In that match Darron Mattocks (minute 31) and Giles Barnes (minute 36) scored the goals for the Jamaicans, while Michael Bradley (minute 48) scored the only goal for the United States.
Clint Dempsey, Zardes, Brad Guzan, among others, played on that United States team. Now, 8 years later, the USA Team is once again without a Concacaf tournament final.
Panama snatches the victory from the United States
Photo: Imago7
Panama defeated the United States on penalties this Wednesday (1-1, 4-5 in the shootout) and, after eliminating the defending champion, will play the final of this tournament on Sunday in Los Angeles (USA).
This will be the third Gold Cup final for Panama, which failed to win the title on the previous two occasions (2005 and 2013).
The Panamanian team, with goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera as the hero in the shootout with two saved penalties, will face the winner of the other semifinal between Mexico and Jamaica in the final.
The USA were coming off another grueling quarterfinal match against Canada that also ended on penalties, but this time the coin fell tails for the combined stars and stripes.
Adalberto Carrasquilla, the best in Panama throughout this intense and very exciting encounter, sealed the final penalty.
The match ended goalless after 90 minutes, Iván Anderson put the Panamanian team ahead in the 99th minute. and the Colombian-American Jesús Ferreira equalized for the US in the 105th minute, which brought the semifinal to the nerves of the eleven meters where the Canal team claimed victory.
Keep reading:
Bombshell in the Gold Cup: The United States falls on penalties against Panama, which registers its name as the first finalist of the tournament
Mexico easily beat Jamaica 3-0 and meet Panama in the Gold Cup final
Will Juan Carlos Osorio return to Concacaf? The former coach of El Tri has a formal offer from Honduras and considers that it would be “an honor” to lead Costa Rica