USMNT suffers embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Panama putting their Copa America future at risk after going down to ten men within 20 minutes

All the Americans needed was a win against a Panama team they have defeated convincingly in the past – a team 32 spots below them in the FIFA rankings – and they would advance to the knockouts.

What followed was a match that could well be nothing short of a national disgrace, and could lead to a crisis of confidence in manager Gregg Berhalter.

The Americans had some of their worst passing (116 total, 60 percent accuracy) and failed to control possession in a match where the USMNT were down to ten men within twenty minutes of action. It ended in a 2-1 defeat that raises a lot of questions about this team and the coach’s ability to adapt to the game in front of them.

Now the Americans are faced with the reality that they may be completely eliminated from the Copa America, needing a win or a draw against Uruguay without one of their starters in Tim Weah.

They may also be forced to play without Matt Turner, their starting goalkeeper who suffered a leg contusion in a hard challenge early in the game.

The Americans thought they had a good start with a goal from Weston McKennie in the fifth minute.

But after consulting VAR, referee Ivan Barton ruled that centre-back Tim Ream was offside when he headed a header at goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

A brief scare fell into the Americans’ lap in minute 12 when Cesar Blackman tried to grab the ball and collided with goalkeeper Matt Turner. Turner landed awkwardly and lay down for a while before finally getting up and continuing to play.

The nightmare start continued in the 17th minute when starting winger Timothy Weah completely blew a gasket and hit defender Roderick Miller in the head.

After initially being shown a yellow card, Barton reversed his decision and gave Weah a red card, also sending him to the showers early.

With the momentum on Panama’s side, Los Canaleros would be expected to benefit first.

But it was Folarin Balogun who scored the first goal of the night, giving the United States a 1-0 lead.

It was a sublime attempt to create a miscommunication with Gio Reyna. Reyna played a pass to the scorer who attempted a one-two that bounced off the midfielder’s ankle. The ball fell perfectly for Balogun who neatly slotted the ball onto the keeper’s left post and over the goal line.

If only the Americans could have kept that lead.

It took only four minutes for Panama to equalize. Cesar Blackman’s first shot was blocked, but his second attempt managed to deflect off Chris Richards and trickle past the diving arms of Matt Turner to level the match.

The first half ended with a lot of the rough play that is emblematic of CONCACAF football, but only Antonee ‘Jedi’ Robinson was booked.

Manager Gregg Berhalter raised his arms in disbelief in minute 43 when a ball over the top for Christian Pulisic resulted in what he believed was a clear penalty in the penalty area. Edgardo Farina horribly mistimed his aerial challenge and fell on top of the American captain, but Barton showed no card and gave no penalty as Pulisic was offside.

By halftime, it was clear that the USMNT were utterly dominated. They were woefully outnumbered, completing just 62 percent of their passes. That included just 26 passes in the final 23 minutes.

Berhalter knew changes were needed, and fast. Turner was sidelined after halftime after suffering a leg contusion, and backup goalie Ethan Horvath was brought in. Reyna and Tyler Adams also came on for Cameron Carter-Vickers and Johnny Cardoso.

Horvath made his first save in the 50th minute – a strong sign for the Cardiff City keeper, who had not played a match since letting five past him against Rotherham in the EFL Championship on May 4.

After a tentative ten minutes, the Americans held their breath after a penalty was given in the 62nd minute. At first glance, it looked like Carter-Vickers had tripped Jose Fajardo. But VAR showed he had not touched the Panamanian striker and the game continued at 1-1.

Balogun attempted another goal attempt in the 71st minute which sailed harmlessly past the post and he was replaced by Ricardo Pepi, who had some unfortunate luck in the match against Bolivia.

Nothing seemed to work for the Americans as the match reached the 80th minute. Every attack saw Panama throw bodies in front of the ball, preventing any build-up from happening.

The best chance they had late in the game came in the 82nd minute, when the snake-bitten Pepi’s header contained no venom and was neatly saved by Mosquera.

Then came the backbreaker. A long period of possession in the American half led to a cross to Fajardo in the penalty area. He put a boot on it as the ball sailed straight toward Horvath. The keeper got a glove on it and the ball sailed through both of his hands. 2-1 Panama.

CONCACAFness followed. Adalberto Carrasquilla went in with a wild challenge: he swung at Christian Pulisic’s legs and sent him to the ground. A red card was immediately shown and both teams were even reduced to ten men.

Still, there was nothing the Americans could do. Panama dribbled out the clock and the game ended with a victory, leaving the United States with the worst questions to ask before a do-or-die match against their toughest opponent in the group stage.