ASN: U.S. and Panama Battle to a Attract a Tense Qualifier

Christian Pulisic and Clint Dempsey mixed for a pleasant piece of magic however Panama proved to be a more durable foe than Honduras and held on for a 1-1 draw Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier. 

BY

John Godfrey

Posted
March 28, 2017
7:55 PM

SHARE THIS STORY

AT HOME, on Friday, there was house to spare and the USA males’s nationwide group scored early and sometimes in opposition to a Honduras group that did not all the time appear up for the combat.

On the highway, tonight, it was a correct CONCACAF battle.

Panama got here after the Individuals, bullied its star participant, Christian Pulisic, and gave Bruce Area’s group every part it might deal with.

Ultimately, each groups left with a degree—a good end result for a usually foul-tempered CONCACAF battle.

The primary half-hour featured powerful challenges, poor passing, and a questionable pitch—the three principal components in a Central American World Cup qualifier. 

However then, within the thirty ninth minute, in opposition to the run of play, the obscenely proficient Pulisic created one thing out of nothing. 

It began when Jermaine Jones blasted a ball down the correct flank from the U.S. half of the sphere. Pulisic and Panama’s Felipe Baloy each had a shot on the ball however the 140-pound 18-year-old outmuscled the 200-pound 36-year-old and establshed possession.

However that was simply the beginning of the sequence. Pulisic then raced round Baloy, danced previous Panama defender Ramon Torres, after which discovered Clint Dempsey with a wonderfully weighted move that ended up at the back of Jaime Penedo’s internet.

The objective confirmed every part we noticed Friday evening in San Jose, Calif.: Pulisic is the maestro the U.S. nationwide group has been searching for. Sadly for Area and Co., Panama introduced its personal combine tape to the match. 

With the group screaming its assist, Panama scored a sloppy objective simply earlier than intermission. It began with an Adolfo Machado throw-in that bounced off U.S. defender Tim Ream and fell completely to Gabriel Gomez, who slammed the ball previous Tim Howard. 

Panama deserved the objective, and would look to construct on its momentum as soon as play resumed within the second half.

And the house group might need accomplished simply that, if not for Tim Howard. 

Simply earlier than the hour mark, a lofted move caught the eye of two Yanks—Ream and Jones—and one Panamanian, Torres. Torres received the aerial battle and nodded the ball towards Luis Tejada, who was loitering within the penalty space.Tejada pounced on the ball and laced it towards the U.S. objective however Howard stoned his low shot to maintain issues stage.

Two minutes later Panama earned a nook kick that produced one other likelihood. The cross ricocheted round Howard’s six-yard field prefer it was inside a Pachinko however Jorge Villafana cleared the ball away simply in time. 

From that time on, neither group produced any stellar probabilities and each groups appeared content material with a draw. The sport ended 1-1, a end result the U.S. will take even when its followers had been anticipating extra.

Area introduced on three subs—Alejandro Bedoya, Kellyn Acosta, and Paul Arriola—however none of them managed to place their mark on the sport.

Pulisic and Dempsey, who had been so deadly in opposition to Honduras and managed to attach once more tonight, didn’t have any magic left in them. Jozy Altidore was a non-factor all through the competition. Jermaine Jones offered some venom however was not a difference-maker. Michael Bradley performed arduous and defended effectively, however didn’t stand up in key moments.

With the draw. the Yanks at the moment are in fourth place in World Cup qualifying, trailing Panama by only one level however effectively behind Mexico and Costa Rica. Subsequent up is Trinidad & Tobago, at house, on June 8.

Three days later, the U.S. will face Mexico on the Azteca stadium in Mexico Metropolis.

What did you consider the sport? Share your take within the Feedback part under.