USMNT Loss to Panama Stuns Fans after Penalty Kick Flop in 2023 Gold Cup Semis

John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images for USSF

Live on the edge long enough and eventually you might fall off.

Such was the case for the USMNT, which for the second straight game went into a penalty shootout in the Gold Cup. Unlike a quarterfinal victory over Canada, however, this time the Americans fell to Panama 1-1 (5-4 on penalties).

FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

COCO GETS IT DONE 🇵🇦

USA: ❌✅✅✅✅❌
PAN: ✅✅❌✅✅✅ pic.twitter.com/zD6trYIvCk

Paul Carr @PaulCarr

🇵🇦 Panama advances to its third Gold Cup final, first since 2013.

🇺🇸 #USMNT goes out in the Gold Cup semis for the fourth time in 16 semifinal appearances.

🇺🇸 USMNT’s record-tying streaks of five straight CONCACAF finals and and three straight CONCACAF titles are both snapped.

Goalkeeper Matt Turner didn’t have quite the same magic as he did against Canada, only coming up with one save through six rounds. Jesús Ferreira and Cristian Roldan each missed their attempts, meanwhile, opening the door for Panama.

FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

USA: ❌
PAN: pic.twitter.com/FOTCZFzzPI

FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

USA: ❌✅✅✅✅❌
PAN: ✅✅❌✅✅ pic.twitter.com/RZwrcdEMoa

And USMNT Twitter was not thrilled with the result:

Ryan Phillips @RumorsandRants

As I said, the #USMNT didn’t deserve to win that match. Thoroughly outplayed by Panama.

Not a great tournament for the guys trying to crack the main roster. Beat up on some bad teams, never looked good against the better teams.

Leander “same handle *elsewhere*” Schaerlaeckens @LeanderAlphabet

Winning two penalty-kick shootouts in a row is insanely hard and, I’m pretty sure, rare.

Ives Galarcep @SoccerByIves

Panama beats the #USMNT in the penalty shootout. Panama the worthy winner tonight and the Americans fall short after a lackluster showing.

This was a tournament for many fringe players to boost their #USMNT stock & while a few did, the overall team showing was underwhelming.

Will Parchman @WillParchman

Matt Miazga is an eternal 12-year-old, which is a shame, because his head is interrupting a mountain of raw ability.

Tactical Manager @ManagerTactical

That’s about the level of this mediocre USMNT 🇺🇸 roster.

Embarrassing campaign, only won the matches against semi pro Caribbean Islands.

Couldn’t beat Jamaica, Canada or Panama.

herculez gomez @herculezg

Don’t freak out.

Besides Matt Turner who’s in the top 3 in their positional battle on this team?

They’ve never played together either.

Gregg Berhalter couldn’t be bothered to be here, you shouldn’t let your emotional state be affected by what you’re seeing. #USMNT

USMNT 🇺🇸 Thoughts @USMNT_Thoughts

No reason to overreact to this. And they’ll say USMNT Twitter is freaking out.

Honestly I’m not. Our federation didn’t take this tournament seriously. They made that abundantly clear with the decision to have a C team led by an interim interim manager.

Brad Weigel @bradleysweigel

What we learned was the #USMNT had four killers on the squad and the rest were sheep. Ferreira, Vazquez, Miazga, and Turner. Don’t care to see any of the other players in the setup again.

Things looked bleak for the United States at various points throughout this match, as two Panama goals were erased due to offside rulings and the Americans were wasteful with their own opportunities.

And then disaster struck in the first overtime session, as Iván Anderson gave Panama in the lead.

FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

PANAMA TAKES THE 1-0 LEAD IN EXTRA TIME! 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/lL5kRIziB6

But Jesús Ferreira was at least temporarily a hero yet again, scoring his Gold Cup-leading seventh goal just seven minutes later to draw things even.

FOX Soccer @FOXSoccer

STOP THAT JESÚS 🇺🇸

THAT WAS JUST DIRTY! pic.twitter.com/PoeDZLvKsF

Leander “same handle *elsewhere*” Schaerlaeckens @LeanderAlphabet

If you still don’t think Jesus Ferreira is a legitimate #USMNT striker, either at A-team or B-team level, I can’t take you seriously on this subject matter.

Megan Swanick @Meg_Swanick

That’s one heck of a goal from Jesus Ferreira

Eliot Shorr-Parks @EliotShorrParks

What a finish by Ferreira 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

#🇺🇸 #⚽️

It was only a stay of execution, however, as the United States failed to reach the final and Panama finally got back there after a decade-long hiatus.

The long view for the Americans is that this wasn’t even a B-squad lineup, instead composed of players trying to make a case for more regular inclusion to the national team. The disappointment for the country is that more players didn’t acquit themselves particularly well.

Turner only further entrenched his standing as the first-choice ‘keeper. Ferreira kept himself in the mix in a once-muddled forward conversation that now seems likely to be headlined by Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun. Perhaps Miazga—outside of his unsportsmanlike decision to block the path of a Panama player ahead of his penalty attempt—and Brandon Vázquez upped their stock.

Beyond that, it wasn’t pretty for the United States. More is expected from the current kings of CONCACAF, even when it’s the C- or D-team.

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