Copa America 2024 Group C: Panama Vs USA

Written By Onyeka Daniel

At the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, it will be hosts USA against one of their oldest rivals, Panama in the second game of their group phase game. Heading into this match, both teams had different fortunes from their first match, but will have almost the same objective in this encounter.

Panama

For Panama, the 3-1 defeat to Uruguay didn’t tell the whole story of the match as they were right in the game for over 80 minutes, before falling apart in the latter stages with two late goals. Heading into this game, they will be hoping to have a better fortune. This is because a second defeat would mean that they’re out of the tournament. In terms of formation, the coach usually plays with a five-man defense, either 5-3-2 or 5-4-1.

Key Players: Adalberto Carrasquilla, who plays for the Houston Dynamo, is one of three individuals on this roster currently featuring for an American club, along with Omar Valencia (New York Red Bulls II) and Carlos Harvey (Minnesota United).

It is however Michael Murillo who has really turned up for the team in terms of goals. After netting against Uruguay, the Marseille defender has directly contributed to three goals in his last five matches for club and country

Panama Possible Starting Lineup: Mosquera; Murillo, Farina, Cordoba, Miller, Davis; Rodriguez, Welch, Carrasquilla, Barcenas; Fajardo

USA

In their opening match, the tournament hosts had no trouble with Bolivia, winning 2-0 and they will be hoping to take that form into this match, as a win will guarantee them a place in the knockout stages of the competition.

But in order to avoid the bigger teams, they will have to top the group, and that would mean getting a favorable result in their last game against Uruguay, so they will be looking to avoid any unnecessary injury or card that would lead to suspension for that last game.

For their coach, Gregg Berhalter, he now has 44 wins as coach, surpassing Bob Bradley for third all-time, with only Jurgen Klinsmann (55) and Bruce Arena (81) registering more.

The 50-year-old will be hoping to stay long in this job, and possibly surpass these records, and heading into this encounter, he will stick with his trusted 4-3-3 formation, utilizing his attacking trio to full advantage.

Key Players: Folarin Balogun netted his fourth, while Christian Pulisic became the third American to score in five different competitions, and both teams will definitely hope to get their names on the scoresheet again, with help from the likes of Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna and Weston McKennie.

USA Possible Starting Lineup: Turner; Scally, Ream, Richards, A. Robinson; Reyna, Musah, McKennie; Weah, Balogun, Pulisic

Head To Head

Both teams have a long history of clashes, both in the Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches. In their last 10 matches, USA have the clear advantage with 5 wins, 3 wins for Panama and 2 ended in a draw.

Verdict

It might look like an easy win for USA, but it should be recalled that they lost to Panama on home soil in 90 minutes, a 2-1 defeat to them at MetLife Stadium during the group phase of the 2011 Gold Cup. The Americans should emerge victorious by a small goal margin (1-0 or 2-1).

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