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Panama Beats USA In Tough Copa America Clash
Panama has dashed the United States’ aspirations of securing a spot in the Copa America knockout rounds by securing a surprising 2-1 victory over the host nation on Thursday.
In the tough encounter yesterday in Atlanta, Group C saw both teams reduced to 10 players each as Panama emerged victorious, reigniting their Copa campaign following a preliminary defeat to Uruguay.
The game’s outcome hinged on a pivotal moment in the 18th minute when US winger Timothy Weah was ejected for a strike on Panama defender Roderick Miller during an off-the-ball altercation, as observed by Video Assistant Referees (VAR).
Despite Folarin Balogun’s goal in the 22nd minute, which was initially a screamer from the edge of the area, Panama managed to equalize just minutes later following a strike by Cesar Blackman.
Panama’s solitary advantage began to impact the fatigued US team as the match progressed significantly.
The US’s hopes of regaining the lead were dashed in the 81st minute when substitute Ricardo Pepi’s goal from a fine run and cross by Weston McKennie was disallowed, leaving the score at 1-1.
This oversight proved costly, as with just seven minutes remaining, Jose Fajardo scored an emphatic goal from Abdiel Ayarza’s low cross, securing Panama a 2-1 victory.
A contentious conclusion to the match saw Adalberto Carrasquilla receive a red card for a deliberate tackle on US captain Christian Pulisic in the final minutes. Panama held on to claim the win.
US Midfielder, Tyler Adams Hails Panama
“That’s soccer at the end of the day. We know what we signed up for and playing in a Copa America, we knew it was going to be a fight.
“Credit to Panama, they did their job and they got the result. Obviously, I think moving forward, we need to control our emotions in certain situations.
“The team fought for everything after we got the red card. Definitely can’t fault the effort. But by winning the first game we’ve put ourselves still in a position that we have all to fight for in the next game,” US midfielder Tyler Adams said afterwards.
Adams said Weah had apologized for his rash dismissal following the game.
“You never mean to get a red card, under any circumstances,” Adams said of Weah.
“He’s not that type of person.
“He apologized to the team. And you know, just respect to the rest of the team because they they fought for every single ball, every single duel, every single minute, and we still created chances even after going down to 10 men.”
Sportxparte reports that in order to secure a spot in the quarter-finals, the USA may have to emerge victorious against the formidable South American team, Uruguay, in their last group match on Monday.
Uruguay is scheduled to face Bolivia in the late game on Thursday in Group C.
