The new coach shine gone as ineffective U.S. again shocked by Panama, this time in 94th minute of Nations League semis
LOS ANGELES – With one swing of the foot, Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. men's national team were dealt a wake-up call. Yes, there's a new coach in charge. Yes, there is reason for optimism given the success of the player pool abroad. But no, this team isn't ready yet.
The same problems that plagued this group last summer remain, and not even Pochettino could fix them on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
After 94 minutes of smashing their heads into the wall, the USMNT lost to Panama. Again. The same team that knocked the U.S. out of the Copa America last summer in Atlanta handed them their first CONCACAF Nations League defeat, winning 1-0 at SoFi Stadium. All it took was one moment of brilliance from Cecelio Waterman – including a post-goal celebration with Thierry Henry – and a whole bunch of "what if" moments from the USMNT on the other side.
Waterman took a pass down the right side from Adalberto Carrasquilla in front of a packed-in U.S. defense and fired a perfect diagonal shot past Matt Turner into the far left corner for the game-winner.
The U.S. had won all three previous iterations of this tournament, and weren't without their chances. Josh Sargent started and had two, one off the post and one called back for offsides. Patrick Agyemang, Sargent's second-half replacement, had two as well. If any of those go in, this is a much different conversation. The USMNT outshot Panama 12-3 – putting five on target, to just one for Panama – earned nine corner kicks and enjoyed two-thirds of the possession.
All the U.S. needed was one real moment of quality. They didn't get it and Panama did. As a result, Panama will play for the Nations League trophy Sunday night against Mexico – 2-0 winners over Canada – while the USMNT are relegated to the third-place game against Jesse Marsch's Canadian side.
“I don't think we approached the game or started the game in the right way,” Pochettino said after the match. “That's why I feel so disappointed and we all feel disappointed. In the first half, we played too slow, too comfortable on the pitch. We didn't show aggression with the ball and there are consequences to not showing aggression with the ball.
“We also didn't show aggression in a defensive way. Even if we didn't concede too much, only two or three shots and one on target going into that last action, but we knew we had to be aggressive with the ball and have a mature approach to the game. I think we didn't show that.”
The margins shouldn't be this fine. The U.S. shouldn't be in this position again. Yet here they are. Even with a number of missing and injured players – including Antonee Robinson – this was unexpected. New coach or not, the U.S. once again walked off a field with Panama celebrating behind them, wondering where the hell it all went wrong.
With roughly 450 days to figure it out before the World Cup brings the USMNT back to this stadium, Pochettino has his work cut out for him. If that wasn't apparent before, it sure as hell is now.
GOAL rates the USMNT's players from SoFi Stadium..
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defense
Matt Turner (5/10):
Had so little to do and then had almost no chance on the winner in the 94th minute, which was Panama's only shot of the game.
Joe Scally (6/10):
Remained a stay-at-home fullback/third centerback, even if he swapped sides due to Antonee Robinson's injury. Was particularly good on the ball and did get forward a few times to give Panama something else to think about.
Tim Ream (6/10):
Had to show off the wheels a few more times than he would have liked, but they still work well enough. Had a few good tackles and blocks to halt Panama's counters and was, as usual, good at passing the ball forward.
Chris Richards (5/10):
Had an extremely scary moment early with a bad giveaway but was fortunately bailed out by Adams. Settled in after that, though, and was mostly clean from that point forward.
Yunus Musah (6/10):
Did some of the basics well, but the USMNT needed more out wide with Robinson out. Not a bad game, but the USMNT needed a special one due to the lack of width elsewhere.
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Tyler Adams (8/10):
Absolutely immense throughout. Set the tone early with a fantastic tackle after Richards' giveaway and that tone never changed. Did so many good things defensively and was constantly available for the ball when the USMNT needed to reset possession.
Tanner Tessmann (5/10):
Was a little bit too loose early with some cheap giveaways but did settle down a bit as the game wore on. His removal midway through the second half was no surprise, though, as he seemed the obvious choice to come out in a midfield shakeup.
Getty ImagesAttack
Tim Weah (6/10):
Was much better in the second half, but didn't have the space to really threaten with his pace. Because of that, he never really broke through and made Panama uncomfortable.
Christian Pulisic (5/10):
One of his quietest games in a USMNT shirt. Had so few moments of danger, which is surprising given the form he's been in. Set up Agyemang late on one of his only good moments but, outside of that, they were a bit too hard to find.
Weston McKennie (5/10):
Came so close to scoring with a header in the first half and had a few moments that kept Panama on their toes. Created chances, but was also a bit too loose with the ball at times.
Josh Sargent (5/10):
Both wildly unlucky and pretty ineffective. Had one shot hit the post and had a goal ruled out moments later but, outside of those two chances, was totally quiet. If one of those chances counts, the narrative is very different. They didn't so the drought persists.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Patrick Agyemang (6/10):
Gets credit for adding life to the game, but he'll be left wondering "what if" after missing two chances to win it. One was saved and the other was just over the goal. Would have been a much different day if one found its way.
Jack McGlynn (5/10):
You could see why Pochettino brought him in given his passing range. Still, the U.S. likely needed another true creator, which McGlynn isn't yet at this level.
Mark McKenzie (6/10):
A tough spot to come into, but he won a few duels after coming in to replace Richards.
Mauricio Pochettino (5/10):
Deserves some criticism for his subs, especially given the creative options on the bench. This will be a major wake-up call for him and the rest of the team. The new-coach shine has officially worn off.