The U.S. men's national team will face Panama for the third-straight CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel) in Philadelphia, with a spot in Thursday's semifinals on the line. The Americans will field a very short-handed squad against a Panama team that has some talent but will still come in as the underdogs.
Panama still has a puncher's chance, what with standout attacking players such as Blas Perez and Ricardo Phillips, and a strong spine consisting of central midfielder Gabriel Gomez, central defender Felipe Baloy and goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. This Panama team has many of the same players from the squad that pushed a first-choice U.S. team to the brink before losing a 2-1 decision in the 2007 quarterfinals, but it isn't as potent as that team was.
To be fair though, the current U.S. team is a far cry from the U.S. team that beat Panama in 2007. In fact, there isn't a single player who started in that game for the U.S. team who will be available on Saturday (Brian Ching was the only current U.S. player to play in that match). The Americans will look to Stuart Holden, Ching and Robbie Rogers to carry the attack, while Chad Marshall and Jimmy Conrad anchor a defense that will surely be tested.
For those of you who missed it, here is my ESPN.com preview on the USA-Panama quarterfinal, along with a brief look at the other quarterfinal match-ups. While I'm sure most readers will be watching USA-Panama, I would highly recommend watching Saturday's quarterfinal between Canada and Honduras, which will probably be the best of the four weekend quarterfinals.
The USA-Panama match will have its share of great match-ups. From Chad Marshall vs. Blas Perez to Stuart Holden vs. Gabriel Gomez, to Brian Ching vs. Felipe Baloy. One interesting match-up will be speedy left winger Victor Herrera vs. Brad Evans, assuming Evans gets the call to start at right back for the United States.
What do you think of the USA-Panama quarterfinal? Expecting a tough match, or do you think the Americans will cruise despite missing the likes of Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber and Steve Cherundolo? Think Panama could spring an upset? Or are you more worried about a potential Gold Cup semifinal rematch vs. Canada?
Share your thoughts below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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