After their semi-final losses last Wednesday, the U.S. and Panama will fight against each other to win the Gold Cup's third place. The American side dominated most of their game against Jamaica, but could not come back from a two-goal disadvantage. Meanwhile, Panama was seconds away of reaching their second straight Gold Cup final, but controversial decisions by referee Mark Geiger denied them the chance to fight for the title.
Jurgen Klinsmann's men have been taking serious heat after dropping the chance of tying Mexico's six Gold Cup victories by losing against Jamaica. After a not so shiny group stage, which they ended in first place, the USMNT destroyed Cuba with a 6-0 score, but two first half goals by Jamaica denied them the chance of walking into the final.
Perhaps one of the team's motivations for Saturday's game will be helping Clint Dempsey secure the goal scoring title. Right now, The Deuce leads all scorers with six goals, followed closely by Mexico's Andres Guardado. Other than that, Klinsmann may be thinking about rotating his team, so that some players that have not enjoyed minutes of playing time can perform in the competition. Klinsmann has a full squad to choose from on Saturday, with captain Michael Bradley and players like Dempsey and Brad Guzan leading the pack.
On the other side of the pitch, Los Canaleros need something to take their mind off what happened against Mexico. Panama's run in the tournament has not seen them win a single match, drawing four and losing against El Tri, and a victory against the Americans could give them something to smile about. Coach Hernán Darío Gómez will have to shift his Starting XI, since Luis Tejada saw the red card against Mexico and his other striker, Blas Pérez, is still recovering from an ankle injury. The rest of their players will be available to participate in this game.
Recent games between the two sides indicate that we could be in for a close match. Their previous game was held a few days ago, with the USMNT struggling to equalize against Panamá, who had taken a first half lead thanks to Blas Pérez. Los Panameños will also try to avenge their heart-breaking loss against the Americans in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, when two stoppage time goals gave the U.S. a dramatic victory that denied Los Canaleros the chance to fight New Zealand for the last World Cup ticket. Let's see if both teams can forget quickly about their defeats in the semis and put up a good show for those in attendance.
Team sheets for USA vs Panama
U.S.A.'s lineup: Guzan; Chandler, Gonzalez, Brooks, Ream; Zusi, Corona, Bradley, Johnson; Johannsson, Wondolowski.
Panama's lineup:Mejía; Machado, Cummings, Torres, Davis, Cooper, Camargo, Godoy, Quintero, Blackburn, Nurse.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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