(Reuters) – The United States’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Panama spent the bulk of the match defending but pounced on a giveaway by the Americans before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time.
Up next for Panama in Sunday’s final will be the winner of Thursday’s other semi-final between Mexico and Canada.
For the U.S., their latest loss to Panama is a massive blow as their only chance to collect silverware before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada now rests with the June 14-July 6 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The U.S. came into the game hoping to avenge a loss to Panama at last year’s Copa America where the hosts failed to reach the knockout stage, a humiliating result that led to the firing of head coach Gregg Berhalter.
After a somewhat tentative start on Thursday the U.S. enjoyed a brief stretch where they threatened Panama, nearly scoring twice while another chance was squandered by an offside call just past the midway mark of a scoreless first half.
Josh Sargent nearly opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he got free in front of the Panama goal from where his shot hit a defender and then the post before being cleared.
Moments later Weston McKennie delivered a strong header from the back post after a brilliant cross from Timothy Weah but Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera was in perfect position to make the save.
Sargent then found the back of the Panama net but Weah was clearly offside in the buildup and the linesman’s flag went up immediately after the ball crossed the goal line.
The U.S. had several chances in the latter portion of the game as the toll of defending all night seemed to sap the Panama players’ strength and left them unable to generate much in the way of an attack until the late turnover.
The U.S. remain the only team to win the CONCACAF Nations League – which launched in 2019 and is modeled after its UEFA counterpart – having triumphed in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Canada enter their semi-final unbeaten in three straight games against Mexico, the most recent being a 0-0 draw in a friendly held last September in Texas.
The two sides last played a competitive match in November 2021 when Canada secured a 2-1 victory in a World Cup qualifier played in Edmonton amid frigid temperatures and with snow piled up on the side of the pitch.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
