The U.S. national team started their 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with a draw, tying Panama 1-1 on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
After a tight first half where Panama pushed the U.S. throughout, the hosts found the breakthrough in the 50th minute when Dom Dwyer took a one-time shot in the box with a half-yard of space to put the U.S. ahead. Miguel Camargo tied up the game for Panama 10 minutes later, however, as the visitors pushed for a goal and found it, and they were rewarded for a good performance overall on the day.
Goals
- 50' – USA – Dom Dwyer WATCH
- 60' – PAN – Miguel Camargo WATCH
- CONCACAF Man of the Match: Miguel Camargo
Three Things
- PANAMA CONTINUE GOLD CUP RUN: Full credit to Panama in this game, who went up against one of the pre-tournament favorites and did what they did last time these teams played in the Gold Cup -- tied 1-1 (Panama won the resulting penalty shootout in the 2015 Gold Cup 3rd-place game, to finish ahead of the USMNT). While both sides had their chances, Panama put together a much more coherent performance overall and were perhaps unlucky not to get all three points against a disjointed USMNT.
- QUESTIONS RAISED: Meanwhile, the Americans will be scratching their heads at this performance. While some hiccups are to be expected with an experimental squad, and a draw is not the worst result, especially against the other top team in Group B, the draw shows there's work to be done if the U.S. want to go for the Gold Cup title, and quite a few players who played in this game will be under pressure to show more moving forward.
- MLS INFLUENCE: Coincidentally, both Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City) and Camargo (New York City FC) scored their second career goals for their respective countries in this game. Dwyer has two goals in two appearances, and is the ninth player in USMNT history to reach that feat, according to U.S. Soccer. With more than 50 players at the Gold Cup currently plying their trade in MLS, the familiarity with the competition on the international front may prove to be both a positive and negative for the individual players.
Next Up
- USA: Wednesday, Jul. 12 – vs. Martinique (9 PM ET | FS1, UniMás, UDN, TSN2 in Canada)
- PAN: Wednesday, Jul. 12 – vs. Nicaragua (7:30 PM ET | FS1, UDN, TSN2 in Canada)
