USMNT at risk of early Copa América exit after chaotic defeat to Panama

José Fajardo beat reserve goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the 83rd minute to give Panama a 2-1 victory over the US in the Copa América on Thursday evening. The Americans are in danger of elimination if they do not beat Uruguay in the final group stage.

In a chaotic match that saw both sides commit a combined 22 fouls, the US played most of the game with a man down. Timothy Weah was shown a red card in the 18th minute after he knocked Panama defender Roderick Miller off the ball.

“You’re never supposed to get a red card,” Tyler Adams said after the match. “[Weah] is not that type of person. He apologized to the team and respected the rest of the team because they fought for every ball, every game… and we still created chances after being down to 10 men, so it shows our quality. Again, everything to play for in the final match [of the group].

Folarin Balogun gave the US the lead with a nice goal in the 22nd minute, but César Blackman equalized in the 26th minute.

Horvath, who replaced the injured Matt Turner at half-time, could not prevent Fajardo’s close-range shot from going through his arms, and Panama defeated the US for the third time in 27 meetings.

Weston McKennie appeared to give the US the lead in the fifth minute, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for offside.

The match ended 10 against 10 after Panama also received a red card in the 88th minute. Adalberto Carrasquilla was immediately sent off after cutting Christian Pulisic from behind. The US threw everyone forward in a desperate attempt to tie the game, including Horvath, but Panama held on for the win.

Weah was sent off by Salvadoran referee Iván Barton after he punched Miller in the back of the head, a pro-American crowd of 59,145 in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was furious, especially after two other calls were made against the host nation.

Chris Richards’ header from Pulisic’s corner was deflected off the crossbar by goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, and a video review showed Tim Ream was offside when he poked the ball to McKennie, who curled it in from close range.

Blackman was not carded when he collided with a leaping Turner in the 12th minute, who landed awkwardly on his arm and remained for several minutes while he was attended to by medical staff.

Balogun scored after a sloppy clearance. Antonee Robinson dribbled into the penalty area and passed to the striker. Balogun exchanged taps with Robinson and curled a shot from the edge of the area past the inside of the far post and inside for his fifth goal in 14 appearances.

Blackman tied the score in the 26th when he took a pass from Adalberto Carrasquilla at the arc, dribbled around Robinson and fired through the legs of Richards and just past Turner’s outstretched arm.

Berhalter made three substitutions to start the second half, but the moves backfired. Berhalter switched to a 5-4-1 formation, in an attempt to stifle Panama’s attack. Instead, Panama controlled possession and cut open the American back line.

The Americans benefited from a video review in the 63rd minute after Cameron Carter-Vickers, another substitute, was called for taking down Fajardo in the penalty area. The call was overturned when a video review showed that Fajardo had already crossed the ball when Carter-Vickers made contact.

Their best chance of the second half came in the 81st minute, when Ricardo Pepi’s header was saved by Orlando Mosquera.

The US, who opened the tournament with a win over Bolivia, will likely have to beat 15-time champion Uruguay on Monday in Kansas City to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.

Panama lost 3-1 to Uruguay and will face Bolivia, a team that has already lost 13 times in a row in the Copa América on Thursday night.

Failing to pass the Americans’ biggest test before the 2026 World Cup will raise questions about whether coach Gregg Berhalter should remain in charge.