By FRANCO PANIZO
U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann scheduled the friendly in Panama to experience what a road game in CONCACAF was like, and he got just what he wanted.
Four days after beating Venezuela, the United States defeated Panama, 1-0, on Wednesday night in a game that felt much like a CONCACAF World Cup qualifier on the road. The Americans won the game at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City courtesy of an early Graham Zusi goal and despite being down a man after centerback Geoff Cameron was questionably sent off in the second half.
Playing in his second match for the U.S. team, Zusi scored the winner in the eighth minute when a cross from Zach Loyd bounced off the leg of Teal Bunbury and into the midfielder's path. Zusi stayed composed in front of goal, slotting it past goalkeeper Luis Mejia.
The hosts did have their opportunities to equalize throughout, but a combination of strong saves from starting goalkeeper Nick Rimando and a failure to finish by Blas Perez saw the Americans win a third consecutive game.
Perez was the one who failed to convert on a pair of clear chances in the latter parts of the second half. The recently-acquired FC Dallas striker headed off the mark in the 77th minute and hooked a shot wide left from six yards out after a collision in the box nine minutes later.
Aside from those opportunities, the Americans had other hiccups defensively in the 4-4-2 formation Klinsmann chose over the 4-2-3-1 he used versus Venezuela.
No mistake was more costly than when a ball played over the top in the 52nd minute sprung Perez free on goal. Cameron raced to deny the Panamanian forward a shot on goal, but he was deemed to have denied Perez a goal-scoring chance when Perez fell to the ground following Cameron's challenge, resuling in his sending off.
The ensuing free kick, which was taken by Marcos Sanchez just outisde the Americans' penalty area, failed to go on frame as it hit off a Panamanian player and out of bounds.
The first half also saw the Panamanians waste good looks, as Rimando denied everything that came his way before being replaced by Sean Johnson at halftime in a substitution that appeared to have been made to give the Chicago Fire goalkeeper experience.
Even with all of its youth and inexperience, the United States killed off the game by maintaining possession in stretches in the second half. Klinsmann made a flurry of defensive-minded substitutions as he looked for his fourth win as U.S. coach, and they paid off as Zusi's first international goal stood as the winner.
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What do you think of the United States' 1-0 win over Panama? Who impressed/disappointed you? Which players do you consider the biggest winners from these last two friendlies?
Share your thoughts below.
Unless Loyd was hurt, being subbed just before halftime by Klinsi seemed a pretty stern statement. “I can’t even trust you five more minutes.” Rimando looked a little beat up and he stayed out til half.
HAHA no cups of human waste either, I thought it was a fairly timid game from the fans as well. Take note though, the field is like 10 yards or more from the seating, perhaps there were no minor league pitchers in the stands last night…
I felt like you had a fighting defensive effort, not particularly pretty, but effective, where we managed a 1-0 shutout on the road with 10 men. Credit for that. But that was a 11/10 man effort.
But if anyone stood out it was the keepers, not the defenders. Loyd didn’t even last the few minutes left to halftime when he was subbed, and Cameron got tossed. We generally looked a little adrift in some sort of zone. The defenders let through enough men for it to have been 3-1 or 2-1, and we wouldn’t have come back. The keepers made quality saves to preserve the clean sheet. Credit where credit’s due.
He left from FCD reg season to train with Arsenal and from there to the USMNT camp. The kid hasn’t had more than a 2 week rest in close to a year…
Agreed DLG was bad… I didn’t care for his play several months ago when JK brought him in then, last nights game was more of the same to me. Decent defending but can’t push up well enough and lacks size and pace to be effective on a larger scale for us.
I don’t want to see DLG again for another season of league play, minimum.
“Baxter! You know I don’t speak Spanish!”
I really had no problem w/ the officiating. At least it was consistent.
The only thing that bothered me was watching it in Spanish on Galavision I couldn’t hear any whistles. So 50 times during the game guys just stopped for no reason (obviously there was a whistle, but to me it seemed like no reason). It was a tough watch.
Uuuuuuh, he was better than Parkhurst. They’re both resposible on that play and if you look at the replay Cameron had position and the attacker kicked the back of Cameron’s leg before going down.
It was a tough call, in a friendly it should be a yellow but I can’t blame the ref for what he saw in real time. It looked bad at first to me too.
Either way it shouldn’t effect Cameron’s status, he will be around when the full team gets back together.
I thought the refs were much better than we’ve previously seen in these games. Give credit to them being there on a non fifa date at all.
I’d agree with both being bad last night, Loyd was pulled early accordingly. Teal should have hit the bench at half time imo, the latest he should have been in the game was up til the red card came. Teal doesn’t do well as a lone striker to me. We should have left Wondo up there.
Both could very well be on the verge of the breakout season you’re asking for. Zack had a semi break out this past year btw. He started nearly every game and got his first goal for FCD. He’s been a stalwart piece of our backline and we’re lucky to have him.
Should he have been called up? Yes, since this is group is pretty much all guys who play in North America he deserved the look. On a camp full of all internationals possible, I don’t believe he gets the call. Tim Chandler is several steps ahead of Zack in depth for the MNT roster. This is a nice “pregame” showing for him with this camp. I wouldn’t expect him to get too many call ups in the next year. After 2012 MLS is over, should he progress very well, then we should see him again.
well the commentators on galavision discussed this exact question. Their response, the defense under bob bradly was much more organized than with klinsmann. But offensively the team is looking to attack more under klinsmann. They also talked about how many players from last night’s team would see the field against italy in feb. They mentioned Jones (not a surprise)Clark, as a maybe and maybe Parkhurst and Cameron. Should we be surprise by that? They said that not many players would actually be capable of competing, which is not at all a surprise.
Regardless of what other ppl say here, the game may have ended in a shut out, but it was only because of great goalkeeping and lack of panamanian accuracy. Panama played a far better game than venezuela. JJ dominated ven, which he should have. The marginal players played well against Ven but struggled against Panama, which they should have. If Venezuela played their A team, maybe the game would have been different Panama didn’t play their A team but they were the home squad and their coach has them playing with confidence against us. He was certainly able to build off of the win in gold cup (the semi-final loss notwithstanding).
You should read the play by play commentaries because that will give you an idea of what happened last night.
Ha. Glad I’m not the only one. I thought I musta been watching too much porn lately and it was slowing my computer down.
Am I the only one that didn’t think the environment seemed all that “hostile”? Seemed like the crowd was just a bunch of people hanging out and having a good time with a couple people playing some drums.
I don’t think a single plastic beer cup even made it onto the field, let alone a pocket knfie. Cuz that’s hostile 🙂
Except Bunbury looks like Altidore did 3 years ago when he was 19
(and Bunbury is only 3 months younger than Altidore)
I think defensively they played solid considering everything – I think the issue is the fact they play a high-line, I don’t know if we have the players to play in such a manner especially when you J Jones is out there with a few bad giveaways a game.
Are you implying that a Mexican ref would favor us because they are our neighbors?
Or would they favor Panama because they share a common language? Where else should the ref be from in concacaf? Canada? Wouldn’t that clearly favor us this logic?
Oh ya…and it’s just a friendly.
Klinsman has us playing a relatively high (up up field) defensive back line, v. what Bradley routinely played with his Bucket 4. As you may well know a number of posters on this site often affectionately called Coach Bradley, “Bucket Bob.” The Panamanian’s have forwards (and Ds and mids) with world class sprinter speed – they exploited that high line by chipping balls in over the Ds and kept beating the offside trap. None of our back line had the speed to match the Panamanian’s forwards, except for Cameron mostly yes – really only maybe Chandler if he had been on the field. Chalk it up to a new coach, experimenting with new players, and new systems. Playing a high D line, requires the mids to play close man to man, and good positional zone D, anticipating your opponents passing options and jumping the passing routes – the US still ball watches too much instead of thinking 2-3 plays ahead, defensively and offensively. High D line also presupposes that your mids and forwards can hold possession once they get a sniff of the ball, and know how to adjust positionally to supporting the player with the ball – the US often shows immaturity, to a total lack of any concept of how to play that simple Man U, or Barca style “keep away” one touch passing game.
To their credit the US D and midfield settled down and played calm possession quite admirably for strecthes in the 2nd half, and helped kill off the game while a man down.
They were very, very fortunate not to concede 2 or 3 goals. Whether because of tactics (a high line), execution (too much space between the midfield and the back line), or just plain mistakes, the center backs were repeatedly beaten, and also failed to mark attackers on crosses several times. Shea probably should not have played; he was either exhausted, or sick, or both. Bunbury played himself way down the depth chart. Sapong may have earned another look with his strength and smarts.
Sapong looked way more comfortable on the ball, and showed flashes of real skill as compared to Bunburry.
Wow I watched the game on ESPN3 and all I have to say is sometimes it appeared as if the fuzzy white things were chasing the fuzzy red things at other times the fuzzy red things were chasing the fuzzy white things. But sometimes it was more difficult to tell what was going on.
I’d be interested to see your A, B, C, and D list.
Agreed. Bunburry’s first touch was horrendous and brick footed all night long, and he often tried to dribble his way out of jams and looked clumsy and in way over his head – Agudelo or Josie are a quantum leap over Bunburry. Twellman (calling the game for ESPN3 and on-line) kept remarking how neither Bunburry nor Wondolowski had a handle on how to play hold up, with their backs to the goal, were not coming to the mid fielders and showing for the ball, and were out of position in transition, especially Bunburry’s defensive postioning was poor. That being said – The refereeing was very biased v. the US, the Panamanian players were fouling with impunity, sly and cynical, waiting for the ref to turn away, elbows to the face, blatant trips on breakaways, and they were also diving better than the Italians, flipping themselves into violent tumbles and agonized sprawls when they barely got bumped, or just plain lost possession and knew they could simulate contact. The usual BS in a CONCACAF road game, where the refs are “home cooking” the game all night long. Good experience for the youngsters.
And yes, I agree with another poster who remarked that Jones and Clarke were trying too hard to take control of he match – crisper quicker, one touch or two touch passing and distribution was called for, and they held the ball too long on too many occasions, tried to dribble too much, and gave up the ball creating opportunities for Panama over and over again.
Pearce had a much better performance at L Back, de la Garza looked more sure of himself coming up the R alley. Shea was mostly lost at sea – outpaced by the quick Panamanian mids and Ds, and he also selfishly held the ball and lost it, or ignored teammates in open passing lanes and attacking positions that could have resulted in more scoring opportunities.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh………..much learning, much practice necessary.
I think the question is how common is it to bring in neutral officials for friendlies scheduled on non-FIFA dates? Not sure I know, but the US surely agreed to the setup.
Parkhurst is too short and too slow to play in the middle. He got beat repeatedly. Sapong was much better than Bunbery. Cameron is here to stay.
ESPN3 is only offered by specific ISP’s. At home, Buckeye Cablevision carries it, but when i’m at work.. the ISP doesn’t have it. Just a heads up.
Hyperbole is fun, but really only makes you look foolish.
Perspective: this was a trip to give the young ‘uns experience on the road. The result is less important than the event. (And we did win, although nearly the whole team was shaky.)
It was a red for two reasons: he denied a clear scoring opportunity and was the last defender when he committed the foul.
Miles better? We build shelters after Cameron was sent off, anyone can look good when you put 9 defenders in the backline. Cameron was our best defender until his departure.
You mean ‘at least we can beat Panama’s B(/C?) squad with a C squad.’ From what I read, since this wasn’t a FIFA international date, they were basically fielding their U-23 Olympic team.
You’re kidding, He was awful and stupid
Actually, by posting here, you prove that you do have espn3.com. it is streamed online. for future matches, be sure to take advantage….
Cameron by the way has impressed me a lot in these last two games. The dude is going to be a beast. I think the red card was a bit too much. He is surely an exciting prospect for our national team… Definitely our 3rd best CB in my opinion.
Overall an ok performance, but extremely boring to watch I might add.
Wondo:I’ll continue to say it, the man is a CLOWN when he wears a U.S jersey. He can’t read the game period. Enough said.
Shea: What’s up with him? It seems the more he plays, the worse he gets in a U.S jersey. Disappointing. I expect a lot better from him.
The rest looked solid. Bunbury knows exactly what he plays for, he never changes his pace. I’m extremely excited for him.
Sapong: I wish I could have seen more from him. 🙁
excatly a win is a win. espacially in panama!! on the road and without the refree helps like always. Three things that the americans always need to be aware of. even when they are playing in the states. 1) we will always play aganist the crowd no matter what (cause we are americans and people hate us) 2) if it a foul dont expect it to be call. dont even bother to complain just shut your mouth and continue to play. 3) its never a friendly aganist USA they always want to beat us because we are americans point black. for example look at the mexicans every time they play us is like they want to murder us by scoring 3 or more goals.
Center backs were poor at reading the pressure or lack there of in the midfield. They left too much room behind and got caught numerous times. We have no idea how to connect/combine once in the attacking part of the field. Few of the players on the field was clean enough technically to play in any game that counts. All that being said…keep bringing players in. The only way we are going to find the right players is to give them opportunities in pressure situations.
also when clark went off as well. jeff larentowitz or whatever cleans things up much better than clark does.
clark should leave europe too. he is too slow.
once cameron went off the defense was MILES better.
panama didnt have the same success they did once parke came on.
…for a mostly young and *in*experienced USMNT…
Let’s get one thing straight: This was a huge, huge win for a mostly young and experienced USMNT playing in a highly hostile environment with only 10 men on the field for the last 40 minutes of the game. It was not pretty, but these are the kind of games you have to win if you are going to advance in major tournaments, like Spain beating Germany in WC2010 semifinal 1-0 on a corner kick goal and then beating the Netherlands only 1-0 in a vicious match (like De Jong’s Kung Fu kick) for the championship.
Seems like a lot of posters here have already forgotten that Panama whipped the US A-team last summer in the group stage of the Gold Cup in mostly friendly Tampa, and the US a few days later in the semi-final barely beat a Panama team withou Blas Perez in friendly Houston 1-0.
The stadium last night was not friendly at all, but the US guys played with heart against a hard-hitting team that borders on dirty tactics and which had the support of some very shoddy refereeing. I tell, some of the A-Team guys better start getting nervous about holding on to their positions, because some of the players last night I have no doubt impressed Klinsmann and are knocking hard on the door to steal their spots.
Love him or hate him, Jermaine Jones is a beast and he was getting hit hard all night long and he kept on charging. Rimando was strong, I shudder what the result would have been with Hamid in front of the net. Johnson also appeared poised and in my mind should be ahead of Hamid on the depth chart. And Cameron did not foul Perez, who lost the ball to his right and only tumbled when he reached his foot over in front of Cameron, who was moving straight ahead, to try to win the ball back. Bad call.
Ricardo Clark. Still not convinced. I totally support Klinsmann, he is taking the program in a positive direction that Bob Bradley could never have dreamed of. But do not see how Klinsmann can justify calling up a player who has not played a club match since early September, not even been on the Frankfurt bench. There are good MLS players who deserved a shot. Bad call, I think, by Klinsmann and not fair to the guys playing for their clubs.
Oh, got carried away. I’m done.
What an ugly game to watch as a USMNT fan. We got the win, but the quality was bad. Other them jones I don’t see many others breaking into the first team.
i have to agree about loyd, but since i don’t want to be only negative, i do think that right foot cross he does is almost consistently accurate.
If we’re already calling in useless forwards like Bunbury, what more worthy names do you want to cycle through? Because the only one I can think of is Herculez Gomez, but one name is hardly a cycle…
Why, just because he scored the goal? Does that automatically make this a successful two games for Zusi? Clark too then?
How has Shea not had an offseason?
Consistently sub-par. DLG will never be an international quality defender, he is too small, not that fast, and close to useless on the attack. He can defend adequately but on the national team we need more from our fullbacks than just defense. He is a fine MLS defender however, and should have a long and successful career as one. All you DLG boosters, I’m not sure if you’re his family and friends or Galaxy fans, but let it go.
you seriously haven’t seen u7 rec games with more fluidity.
C- players at best.
Wow, Monkey…did you actually watch the game?! How many times did Panama run through our defense. The scoreline proves only 2 things, that we won and that Panama sucks at shooting. They were not short of chances however.
what does that say about panama, missing only two guys and still cant beat a USA D-team. This team is not even a C.