The US men's national team and Panama will go head to head for a place in the 2023 Gold Cup final against Jamaica/Mexico on July 12 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.
Panama and the USMNT both finished in first place in their respective groups with two wins and one draw. The Stars and Stripes have enjoyed spectacular performances from forward Jesus Ferreira, who bagged back-to-back hat tricks, while Panama's Ismael Diaz has scored four goals in the competition.
But it wasn't all perfect for the US in the opening game against Jamaica where a late goal from substitute Brandon Vazquez saved them from defeat in a 1-1 draw. USA went on to win their next two games against St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago, 6-0, to ensure qualification for the quarterfinal where they scraped 2-2 (3-2) win against Canada in a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has saved the US on several occasions so far in the 2023 edition of the Gold Cup.
Panama came flying out of the gate with two 2-1 victories over Costa Rica and Martinique, and a 2-2 draw against El Salvador in the final group stage game meant that they were through to the quarterfinal against Qatar. The 2022 World Cup hosts stood no chance as Diaz scored a nine minute hat trick to send his nation to the semifinal.
The two countries have squared off 17 times before, with the USMNT winning 11 of those games. Panama has only three wins and has held the US to three draws. The most recent meeting featured the Stars and Stripes enjoying a 5-1 thrashing in 2022 World Cup qualifiers in March 2022.
Where to watch USA vs. Panama on TV/live stream?
When is kick-off? 7:30 PM EST
Where is the game being played? Snapdragon Stadium
TV channel/live stream? FS1, Univision
What time does TV coverage start? 7:15 PM EST
USA team news
It appears that the US has no injury concerns heading into the game, with defenders Miles Robinson and Aaron Long recovering from their respective injuries. Robinson played the full 90 against Canada and was subbed off before extra-time started, and Long was the one who replaced him in defense.
While Ferreira has impressed for the US up front, perhaps interim head coach B.J. Callaghan could give Vazquez a chance to start at striker given his effectiveness when on the field. Or, Callaghan could start both of them with Ferreira playing more of an attacking-midfielder role.
Turner, who saved two penalties during the shootout vs. Canada, explained the team's mentality after their dramatic win:
"When you're in these kinds of tournaments, you're only together as a group for a short period of time," said Turner. "So in these games, you learn so much about yourselves. And I think for us, trusting the process, trusting the set pieces, trusting all the work that we do."
"You can't simulate the intensity of a knockout-style games. The more experience guys have in our player pool of playing in knockout games and playing in knockout atmospheres, it's only better for U.S. soccer as a whole."
Panama team news
Like the US, Panama also doesn't appear to have any injures as the game approaches.
Diaz hopes to continue his goal-scoring run to lift his nation a Gold Cup final appearance:
"We are one step away from reaching a final, it is something that is very motivating, and we hope that it can come true, because it is useless to do everything we are doing and not win that game," he said.
"I am one of those people who is very difficult to be satisfied. I know I can be better, I'm going to continue working for that, I do feel that I'm better physically than before, but I want more, and the most important thing is that every day I integrate better with the team."
"That (the win against Qatar) is behind us, we lived, we enjoyed the moment, and the important thing now is going to be the next game, where if we really want to achieve something important we have to win this game."
Prediction
USA were very fortunate to escape against Canada on penalties. If it wasn't for the heroics of Vazquez and Turner, the US's Gold Cup hopes could've came to a screeching halt.
If the USMNT shows up with a similar performance like the one against Canada, they could very well find themselves in a hole against Panama. The game will probably be close, but the US should have just enough to edge Panama to get to the final.
Prediction: USA 2 - Panama 1
This article was originally published on 90min as USA vs. Panama: Gold Cup preview - TV channel/live stream, team news & prediction .