Match Preview: USMNT face off against Panama as they look to advance to Gold Cup Final

After a thrilling quarterfinal victory against Canada on Sunday night, the USMNT will face off against Panama in the Gold Cup semifinals. The match will take place at 7:30 PM EST on Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.

The USMNT got to the semifinals by squeaking by Canada in penalty kicks 2-2 (3-2) in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Panama was able to easily defeat Qatar 4-0 to get to this stage of the Gold Cup for the first time since 2015 when they lost to eventual champions Mexico.

USMNT vs Panama Preview

The USMNT and Panama have faced off a total of eleven times in the Gold Cup, with the matchup being closer than people might think. Overall, the USMNT has a 6-1-4 record against Panama, with their most recent matchup being a 1-0 win for the Americans in 2019.

Panama has always played the USMNT tough, and that should not change on Wednesday night with a chance to be in the final on the line. The last time that Panama made it to the Gold Cup finals was in 2013 when they fell to the USMNT 1-0.

The Americans will be looking for their fourth consecutive Gold Cup final appearance, and will also be looking to have the opportunity to be back-to-back Gold Cup Champions.

The Gold Cup So Far

When looking at all the teams in the Gold Cup and how they have played, the thing that sticks out is that Panama has been pretty dominant in their matches so far. Throughout their 4 matches so far, Panama has scored a total of ten goals and only allowed four.

They also completely dominated Qatar in their quarterfinal match, winning 4-0. Los Canaleros had 62% possession in the match as well, while having 17 total shots compared to only 4 for Qatar. They are making life difficult for their opponents, and will not be an easy match for the USMNT. B.J. Callaghan’s side will have to lock down some key players on this Panama side if they want to have a chance at moving on to the Gold Cup finals on Sunday night.

X-Factors for the Match

As seen above, Panama has not been a pushover and has created some difficulty for teams in this tournament. One of the main reasons that they can do this is due to the top attack that they have had, which has been helped by the qualities of winger Ismael Diaz.

In their last match against Qatar, Diaz scored a hat trick in only 69 minutes of play. In the match against Qatar, Diaz scored four goals and also contributed one assist for this Panama side.

He has arguably been one of Panama’s top players in their last few matches, and the USMNT should not plan on him stopping. He has only gotten better as the tournament has rolled on, and I am fully expecting that to continue for this semifinal match.

For B.J. Callaghan’s side, there has been a player who has stood out in the last few matches but has done so in a quiet fashion. He has been crucial to the American’s midfield and has created some big opportunities for the team as well.

This player is a 21-year-old midfielder from Venezia, Gianluca Busio. Throughout this entire Gold Cup, Busio has stood out in front of all the other players as one of the top players on the team. The midfielder has two assists, one goal, and also shot the ball that led to an own goal by the Canadian defender to tie that match in extra time.

When on the pitch, Busio has created plenty of chances for his attack, but he also has been pretty dominant in defense as well. The USMNT midfield is much better when Busio is on the pitch, and that is why he will be an important factor for the team against Panama.

Predictions for the Match

Manager B.J. Callaghan has rotated players often in this Gold Cup, but with the tournament in the semifinals now, I do not see much, if any rotation being involved when it comes to the Starting XI. If there was any rotation for the match against Panama, I could see Callaghan finding a way for Cade Cowell to be inserted into the starting eleven.

Cowell has been impressive when coming off of the bench, so there is a chance that Callaghan feels that he deserves a start. All in all, for the match against Panama, my predicted lineup will be the following: Turner, Jones, Neal, Robinson, Reynolds, Sands, Busio, Mihailovic, Cowell, Gressel, and Ferreira.

This match is going to be yet another tough matchup for the USMNT, as they are going up against a tough Panama side that has not yet been defeated at all in the Gold Cup. They made it out of the group stage with two wins and a draw, and then they absolutely demolished Qatar in the quarterfinals.

While I do expect the USMNT to be able to pull out of this match with a win and advance to the finals once again, I am not expecting it to be easy at all. My final prediction for the match will be 2-1 for the Americans. Both sides have not conceded a lot of goals during the tournament, and I am expecting that to stay the same.