ATLANTA – Nothing comes easy for the U.S. men’s national team. After an early red card sent the American team into a self-dug hole in Thursday night’s Copa América match, Panama began a relentless attack that culminated in a go-ahead goal with less than 10 minutes remaining, starting a frantic and chaotic game here at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The defeat means the USMNT now faces a tough challenge to reach the knockout stage and once again faces challenges of its own making.
Chaos seems to follow this team, and the first half was a spectacle in itself. In the space of about 20 minutes of the first half, fans here saw:
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A brilliant goal from Weston McKennie after a deflection… which VAR promptly disallowed.
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A brutal mid-air collision where Panama’s César Blackman ran over American goalkeeper Matt Turner, sending Turner spiraling onto the pitch and landing hard on his shoulder. Blackman was released with a stern talking to and nothing more.
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Red card for USMNT’s Tim Weah, who hit Panama’s Roderick Miller in the back of the head, away from the ball. This left the United States shorthanded, but a few minutes later…
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A magnificent long-range goal from Folarin Balogun to put the United States 1-0 down. It was a moment of extreme joy, but it would not last.
That was enough to fully engage the crowd, and the hometown boos resounded for the remainder of the half as the U.S. team arrived on Mercedes-Benz territory and gestured, often in vain, for justice. This was football at its most CONCACAF: chaotic – a whiplash of emotion and joy and devastation and despair, at a pace that was unsustainable.
Sure enough, early in the second half, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter established a more defensive, imposing rhythm that conserved energy and preserved the tie.
There were still moments when the USMNT danced on a knife’s edge, like when Cameron Carter-Vickers dived on Jose Fajardo inside the box. Initially awarded as a penalty, the decision was ruled out when replay showed Fajardo diving after the ball left his foot. Still, it was an unnecessarily risky – and, once again, potentially catastrophic – move.
Finally, in the 84th minute, Fajardo scored, scoring a devastating goal from close range:
Minutes later, a late red card for Panama’s Adalberto Carrasquilla for a sliding tackle on Christian Pulisic tied the teams at 10 apiece…
…but it was too late for the Americans to turn back.
The loss is devastating for the United States, as they were a huge favorite at the start of the match. The USMNT now face group favorites Uruguay on Monday, and the task ahead is substantial and daunting.
It’s a small highlight indeed, but the USMNT enjoyed a fully engaged crowd in Atlanta, even if the numbers fell well short of a sellout. Many of the 59,145 announced participants had to face traffic caused by the presidential debate taking place just a few kilometers north of the stadium. But once inside the building, they were loud and resonant, applauding the two American goals – the allowed one and the rejected one – with thunderous cheers, and pounding the Panamanian side – and referee Iván Barton too – with boos that echoed across the field. Stadium.
The USMNT was not expected to survive long in the knockout stage. But failing to reach that stage would be a huge failure, and Americans have one last chance on Monday to avoid that devastating fate.
