Panama walks out of the Gold Cup without a victory during regulation, but their skills and efforts were enough to beat the USMNT after an excruciating penalty shootout. Los Canaleros took the lead after Roberto Nurse's left-footed strike, but the Americans cancelled their lead thank to Clint Dempsey, who scored his seventh goal of the tournament.
In a game that most professional footballers would rather miss, both teams showed a good deal of effort despite the complicated weather conditions, which forced the ref to give a cooling period in each of the game's halves. After the game's 90 minutes ended, the Americans seemed to be getting closer to scoring the game winning goal, since Panama's players were exhausted.
Once the game went to its shootout definition, the Americans scored first via a right-footed strike by Aron Johansson. Captain Roman Torres equalized for the Panamanians, while Clint Dempsey scored the second goal for Klinsmann's crew. Fabian Johnson missed the third shot for the USMNT, while Armando Cooper did the same for Panama. Then, two consecutive saves by goalkeeper Luis Mejia and a goal by Harold Cummings ended up with Los Canaleros putting their fists up as a clear sign of victory.
Panama became the first team in history to have all of their matches end with the same result (1-1) during regulation. For the United States, this is their worst finish in a Gold Cup tournament after finishing 5th back in the 2000 edition.
Fans praised Panama's temper to take the penalties, while some others criticized the Americans for their fourth-place finish. Have a look at their comments below.
In friendlies they defeated Germany and Holland. In Gold Cup they can't even defeat Panama and Jamaica pic.twitter.com/5r80oLmAxz
— Troll Football (@Troll__Football) July 25, 2015
Well done to Panama for way it regrouped. Now #usmnt must do the same (in very different circumstances) ahead of Confed Cup playoff.
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) July 25, 2015
"More top-three finishes in Gold Cup history:USA 11, Mexico 10, PANAMA 4, Brazil, Canada & Honduras 3, Costa Rica 2"
Más veces entre los 3 primeros de la Copa Oro: [11] Estados Unidos [10] México [04] PANAMÁ [03] Brasil, Canadá y Honduras [02] Costa Rica
— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) July 25, 2015
Panama wins Gold Cup 3rd-place game as Mejía saves the Beasley penalty. Hope that's not the way Beasley's NT career ends.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) July 25, 2015
Panama defeats #USMNT after penalties. Panama´s 90-minute results this Gold Cup: 1-1 HAI 1-1 HON 1-1 USA 1-1 T&T 1-1 MEX 1-1 USA
— Mr. Numbers (@Mister_Numbers) July 25, 2015
Panama takes third spot in the Gold Cup after beating USA on penalties. Panama hasn't won a single match at this tournament.
— Pål Ødegård (@paalpot75) July 25, 2015
So Panama won against USA...... In PENALTIES. Hmmm
— karsleezy (@yupitsskarla) July 25, 2015
No Penedo, no problem for Panama as they defeat the #USMNT in penalties to clinch third place in #GoldCup2015. The U.S. finishes fourth...
— Adam Serrano (@LAGalaxyInsider) July 25, 2015
"'Big Hands' Mejia, you beast! He denies the penalty and we're third in the Gold Cup!"
¡¡Manotas Mejía, eres grande!! Ataja el penal y somos terceros de la Copa Oro. #VamosPanama
— RPCTV Panamá (@rpctvpanama) July 25, 2015
Job well done Mejia! Panama is proud of you. https://t.co/7yzeKicIKI
— Stephen Hunt (@panamastyle) July 25, 2015
#PANAMA celebrates the #GoldCup2015 3rd Place Spot #CopaOro2015 @ussoccer @fepafut http://t.co/mCSBOHPTnz
— CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) July 25, 2015