The United States Men’s U-20 National Team came into today’s match with Panama knowing it had to play better than it did on Friday, opening the tournament with a disappointing 1-1 with Guatemala. Panama opened with a 4-0 defeat of Aruba, whom the USA plays next.
Unfortunately for the U.S. they came out just as flat as they did on Friday and really have not gotten much from the midfield. This was clearly apparent today as the team continued to struggle generating clear scoring chances. The result was a sobering 1-0 loss that leaves the Americans five points behind group leaders Panama. It is a very real possibility that the U.S. fails to qualify for the World Cup later this year.
After a pedestrian first half the United States starting putting on the pressure in the second half but it was to no avail and lax defending cost them in the 78th minute. A chip into the box caught the defense flat-footed, especially Matt Miazga and John Requejo. The ball was collected smoothly by Panama forward Carlos Small, who calmly slid the ball under the diving Zack Steffen for the winning goal.
The loss drops the Americans to fifth place in the six-team group with three matches to play. The team clearly has much work to do as the midfield really has not provided much and is lacking that final ball in attack, thereby preventing the attackers from getting quality chances on goal. The defense also needs to be tightened up. If coach Tab Ramos can fix these issues they will have a very good chance of getting back into the hunt for the World Cup. If not, it will be a long summer of soul-searching. It is clear now that alarm bells will be ringing if they haven’t already.