Panama surprises USA with famous 2-1 victory at Copa America 2024

The American Timothy Weah received the red card.

After a comfortable win against underdog Bolivia in their opening Group C match, the USA were looking to build on their successful start to the 2024 Copa America when they faced Panama at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The USMNT got off to a hectic start as Panama nearly took the lead through Edgar Barcenas, who showed his skills with an audacious overhead kick attempt that narrowly missed Matt Turner’s goal.

The USA had their chance next, thinking they had scored the first goal through midfielder Weston McKennie, but after a VAR review the goal was disallowed, leaving the score 0-0.

To make matters worse, the Americans were reduced to ten men within the first 20 minutes of the game after winger Timothy Weah’s yellow card was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.

Despite the setback, Gregg Berhalter’s team quickly recovered and took the lead just minutes later through striker Folarin Balogun, who scored his second goal of the tournament in the 22nd minute with an absolute cracker from the edge of the box to give the team a 1-0 lead.

However, the lead did not last long, as just a few minutes later Panama equalised when César Blackman placed his shot out of reach of goalkeeper Matt Turner, thus levelling the game.

In the final quarter of the first half, both sides had good chances to take the lead, but they were unable to capitalize on these in the final third, leaving the score at 1:1 at halftime.

At the start of the second half, Gregg Berhalter had to switch goalkeepers as Ethan Horvath came on for Matt Turner, who had suffered a violent collision earlier in the game. With one man down, the USMNT formed a defensive formation for the rest of the game while Panama went aggressive on the attack.

After about an hour, Panama thought they had a penalty when substitute José Fajardo drew a foul in the box after fouling American Cameron Carter-Vickers. However, Gregg Berhalter and his USMNT breathed a sigh of relief when the penalty decision was overturned following a VAR review.

Panama’s positive attitude finally paid off when substitute José Fajardo fired the ball into the net in the 83rd minute to give Panama a stunning 2-1 lead. However, Panama also had to be reduced to ten men after Adalberto Carrasquilla was shown a red card for violent conduct.

Panama defended its narrow lead against the USA with a magnificent 2-1 victory, keeping its hopes of qualifying for the knockout round alive.

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