USMNT will be fighting fatigue in Gold Cup semifinal vs. Panama

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Doug McIntyre

Soccer Journalist

A good Panama squad stands between the U.S. men’s national team and a spot in Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final, but the Americans will be fighting another formidable opponent in Wednesday’s semis in San Diego (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes): Fatigue.

After logging 120 minutes in their last outing, a thrilling penalty-kick win over northern rival (and fellow 2022 World Cup participant) Canada, the hosts could have some tired legs against Los Canaleros at Snapdragon Stadium. The Panamanians, who brushed aside invited guest Qatar 4-0 in their quarterfinal on the strength of Ismael Diaz’s hat trick, also have an extra day of rest.

Add in the emotional rollercoaster of the USMNT’s comeback victory, and it seems obvious which of the two teams will be fresher. It’s a point interim U.S. coach didn’t even try to dispute Tuesday when speaking to reporters at his pre-game press conference.

“I see a group that’s confident, that was able to get through a tough game and prove to ourselves that we have that resilience and relentlessness to compete 120 total minutes, and obviously whenever you do that it takes a bit of a physical toll,” Callaghan said of his team. “But the group has been committed since the moment the match ended to begin to use every bit of recovery strategies that we have, and the staff was all hands on deck to make this happen. And the recovery of the players has been going really well.”

It had better be. At both this Gold Cup and at last month’s CONCACAF Nations League, Panama has impressed. Panama gave regional heavyweight Mexico all it could handle in the latter tournament’s third place match. They built on that performance at this event, reeling off group stage wins over Costa Rica and Martinique and nearly added another against El Salvador, which stole a point with a stoppage time goal in the first-round finale.

Panama vs. Qatar Highlights | CONCACAF Gold Cup

The U.S. won its most recent meeting with Panama, a World Cup qualifier in March of 2022, 5-1. But over the years, the Central Americans have just as often been a thorn in the USMNT’s side. The Central Americans qualified for the 2018 World Cup ahead of the U.S. They beat them in Panama City last year in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup. And in the Gold Cup they’ve fared particularly well, handing the U.S. its first group-stage defeat in 2011 and beating the hosts on penalties in the third-place game four years later.

Panama also boasts one of the best coaches in CONCACAF in former Barcelona striker Thomas Christiansen, who has been at the helm since 2020.

“Since coach Christiansen has taken over this team, you can see the growth every time that we have an opportunity to play them,” Callaghan said. “Very well organized, have shown a lot of variety and adaptability in terms of their tactics. They have an ability to beat you in many different ways, with a lot of dangerous players.”

The good news for the Americans is that they know exactly what to expect. Even with Christian Pulisic and most of the other regulars who faced Panama during 2022 World Cup qualifying on vacation this month before reporting for preseason training with their European clubs, there’s familiarity. Two key Canaleros midfielders, Anibal Godoy and Adalberto Carrasquilla, play professionally stateside, with Nashville SC and the Houston Dynamo respectively.

“I think a lot of us have experienced playing against them just in MLS,” said U.S. midfielder James Sands, arguably the second-best U.S. player so far behind Golden Boot leader Jesús Ferreira. “We know they’re good players. For us, it’s just about trying to play our game and trying to dictate the game as much as possible. And a lot of that starts in the midfield.”

Still, the game could be decided elsewhere. Ferreira didn’t score against Canada, but cooly buried his shootout attempt and surely is determined to prove that he can score in a knockout stage game. Target striker Brandon Vazquez notched his third goal of the tournament off the bench on Sunday.

“You can see that he’s a real dangerous threat inside the penalty box,” Callaghan said of the San Diego native. “We’re confident that we have a lot of players on the field that can score in a variety of ways.”

In the U.S. goal is its only World Cup starter, Matt Turner, who made two saves on the Canadians in the tiebreaker. And as was the case on Sunday in Cincinnati, the Americans are anticipating a large crowd of mostly U.S. supporters on Wednesday. “I think makes us even more motivated to have a great performance,” Callaghan said of the reception his squad has gotten in the Californian border city.

Given the quick turnaround and the grudge match that preceded it, the U.S. will take every advantage it can get.

“We’re expecting a team that’s going to play with a lot of intensity,” Callaghan said of Panama.

We’ll soon find out if the Americans have enough left in them to match it.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.