PHILADELPHIA - After the USMNT's defeat to Jamaica and Panama’s defeat to Mexico, the two teams are going to face each other for the second time in th
PHILADELPHIA – After the USMNT’s defeat to Jamaica and Panama’s defeat to Mexico, the two teams are going to face each other for the second time in this tournament to decide the third place. Panama and U.S. met in the group stage and tied 1-1.
It wouldn’t be fair to say the U.S. played poorly against Jamaica since for the first 30 minutes of the match they were actually the better team. However, after the opponent’s first goal, they did slow down.
For many, this loss in the semifinal was unacceptable as if the U.S. had an obligation to win to Gold Cup. But we all know this is definitely not the end of world. It serves as a learning process for next time, it shows that they still need improvement, and even though they won against great teams like Germany and Netherlands not long ago, they still need to make changes for the future.
The only bad news is that there is a chance that Panama might not even show up for this match. Because of all the issues involved in their semifinal against Mexico, they could do this as a form of protest for the mistakes the referee made against them.
[quote_box_center]“We’re going to gather as players and make a good decision as to what will happen with the third-place game” said Luis Tejada, who received a red card in the first half against Mexico.[/quote_box_center]
If everything goes well, the third place match will take place on Saturday, July 25th, at 4 p.m. ET at PPL Park in Philadelphia. No matter what the result of this match is, the U.S. will still face the winner of this Gold Cup on October 9th in a playoff match to decide who will represent the CONCACAF region in the Confederations Cup.
