CONCACAF Gold Cup Review: USMNT suffer shock penalty shootout defeat to Panama in Gold Cup semi-finals
In the semi-final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in San Diego on Wednesday, Orlando Mosquera made a crucial save in the sixth round of a shootout to help Panama defeat the USA. He stopped a penalty kick from Cristian Roldan.
Following the save, Adalberto Carrasquilla scored against Matt Turner, securing a 5-4 victory in the shootout for Panama against the defending champions. Mosquera also made a save against Jesus Ferreira, while Turner stopped Cristian Martinez.
The game remained scoreless for 90 minutes until Ivan Anderson scored in the ninth minute of extra time to give Panama a 1-0 lead. Ferreira equalized six minutes later, making it 1-1. The US only had one opportunity in the first half, which occurred 24 seconds into the match when Cade Cowell hit the post in his first Gold Cup start.
Despite Panama having 56% of the possession, the Americans were able to compete evenly with them. In the early stages of the second half, Turner made an impressive save to deny a powerful header from Ismael Diaz, and the US avoided a potential penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time after VAR determined that Djordje Mihailovic did not commit a handball.
Anderson executed a clever chip over Turner, who had ventured outside the penalty area, and calmly rolled the ball into the unguarded net during extra time. Shortly after, Ferreira, who had previously scored three consecutive goals in the group stage, volleyed the ball into the goal after receiving a header from Jordan Morris.
This sequence of events resembled the recent match between the US and Canada in the quarter-finals, where Canada took a 2-1 lead in extra time before the US equalized and ultimately won the penalty shootout thanks to two saves by Turner.
However, this time, the US team ended up losing in the penalty shootout. Panama will face Mexico in the final on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif., following Mexico’s 3-0 victory over Jamaica later on Wednesday night.
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