da dobrowin： The U.S. were undone by their own mistakes, including Tim Weah's red, now face a do-or-die clash with Uruguay
da brdice： If the U.S. men's national team fails to make it out of this Copa America group stage, they'll look back at one Tim Weah swing of the arm as the reason why. In tournaments such as this, margins are so fine and, sometimes, legacies live and die by one moment of madness.
That's what Thursday's match in Atlanta boiled down to: chaos personified. Fans of CONCACAF will know it well, as well the USMNT, but, on this night, the U.S. could do nothing to stop their own self-inflicted spiral.
It ended 2-1 to Panama, who took advantage of Weah's recklessness. The USMNT winger's punch, which saw him sent off just 18 minutes in, could prove the moment that defines this particular USMNT group. They wanted a challenge this summer and now they'll get it. Their fate will now depend on their final group stage game against Uruguay next Monday.
It didn't have to be this way. Prior to Weah's dismissal, the U.S. was cruising. They had an early goal ruled out by an offside call, but it felt like a matter of time. Then Weah's punch happened, and the game spun into chaos.
Folarin Balogun temporarily eased any doubts with a golazo moments after the red, but Panama answered back almost immediately with a goal from Cesar Blackman. From there, the game devolved into a dogfight and, for a while, it looked like the U.S. would be able to squeak out a draw.
Ultimately, they couldn't. An 83rd-minute goal from Jose Fajardo sealed Panama's victory. And the U.S. was unable to fight back.
They'll get another chance against Uruguay. Coach Gregg Berhalter will likely be coaching for his job in that match. This particular group will, at least partly, be playing for their legacy. Few saw it coming, but the Uruguay match is now poised to be one of the biggest in this program's history. It didn't have to be, but that's the situation that the USMNT have created, largely thanks to their own costly mistakes.
GOAL rates the USMNT's players from Mercedes-Benz Stadium…
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Matt Turner (5/10):
Never recovered from a collision early in the first half that led to a clear injury. Does a healthy Turner stop Blackman's shot? You have to wonder, and it seemed the U.S. coaching staff did too as they switched to Ethan Horvath for the second half.
Antonee Robinson (8/10):
Just so unbelievably steady, which is even more important in a game like this. A calming presence throughout that really helped steady the USMNT defense. Credited with the assist, too, although, that was really all Balogun.
Tim Ream (5/10):
Was a little unlucky to be called off on what could have been the opening goal. Had some nervy moments defensively, though, as his pace, or lack thereof, is a problem for this U.S. group.
Chris Richards (5/10):
Had some scary, scary moments. Could have done more to throw himself in the way of Blackman's shot, too. Overall, the USMNT needed a calming performance at centerback, and this wasn't it.
Joe Scally (7/10):
Did little to nothing on the ball, but was fantastic defensively. In this game, the USMNT needed that in a big way.
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Tyler Adams (5/10):
Still not 90 minutes fit, which led to his halftime removal. During the first half, though, he was a bit sloppy on the ball and a bit too aggressive off of it given the USMNT's man disadvantage.
Weston McKennie (5/10):
Just didn't really do much of anything for most of the match, save for one fantastic cross for Pepi late on. Didn't get on the ball often and didn't really have any big defensive contributions. A rough day for the Juventus midfielder, who did a lot of running but not a lot of helping.
Gio Reyna (6/10):
From the moment Weah was sent off, you knew Reyna would be sacrificed at some point. He made it through the first half, fighting hard in midfield, but, ultimately, the USMNT needed more steel than creativity.
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Christian Pulisic (7/10):
Extremely dangerous when he did get on the ball. He had a connection with Balogun several times, as that duo threatened Panama on their own. Almost lost his cool at the end when hacked down by Coco Carasquilla, with the Panama star earning a late red card for his horrible foul.
Folarin Balogun (8/10):
An absolutely monstrous performance from the USMNT's newest No. 9. The goal was fantastic and he was very, very close to getting another. Despite his team being down a man, Balogun was the most goal-dangerous player on the field, which is a testament to how good he was.
Tim Weah (2/10):
You simply can't make that mistake. The only way Panama has a chance to win this game is to make the match ugly, and Weah got sucked into it just a few minutes in. It was just plain stupid and unnecessary.
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Ethan Horvath (6/10):
It's so hard to come into a game cold as a goalkeeper. Horvath made a few saves and there was nothing he could really do on the goal. A chance to be a hero, but it wasn't to be.
Johnny Cardoso (5/10):
Like McKennie, he largely did a whole lot of running as the USMNT hoofed it towards Pulisic and Balogun whenever they got the ball.
Cameron Carter-Vickers (4/10):
Extremely nervy. Was a bit too aggressive on multiple occasions, leading to several legitimate Panama penalty shouts. You can't put yourself in that position when down a man, and he was lucky to escape each time.
Ricardo Pepi (4/10):
Again, he had a chance. Unfortunately, his body wasn't quite in the right position to get power on a header that could have changed this tournament for the USMNT.
Josh Sargent (N/A):
Came on late as the U.S. rolled the dice, but couldn't do anything.
Gregg Berhalter (5/10):
He'll get blamed for this, but what more could he have done? An early red card, a goalkeeper injury, some crazy defending – this was a day in which everything went wrong. It'll all come down to the Uruguay game for the USMNT, and that might just be a day in which Berhalter coaches for his job.