The USMNT played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time ever on Thursday – and the first time in Atlanta in almost a decade – taking part in the probably the most CONCACAF-inspired Copa America match imaginable. They ultimately came away on the short end, losing 2-1, but it was a truly drunken soccer match. The game had everything, from nonexistent yellow cards to an early red on the U.S., and then a goal for each side in a matter of minutes. It was a roller coaster evening for the USMNT in their new Georgia home, so here are your final whistle thoughts live from Atlanta!
What tournament is this?
Look…we all know CONCACAF and the shenanigans that this federation brings year after year. But this USMNT vs Panama match was like watching prime WWE with a Sunday league ref. This was Copa America, not the Gold Cup, but what we just witnessed was chaos.
It all began with the collision tackle truck-stick hit on Matt Turner early on. Unfortunately, the U.S. players didn’t immediately respond in a way that likely would’ve put the ref on notice, and no yellow card was shown. Instead, Tim Weah waited a minute after play had started and then clocked a Panamanian player hard with his forearm, ultimately resulting in a red card. Yeah, it’s hard to argue against the red in that situation, but the referee totally lost control of the match.
I despise having to take time to write or chat on our podcast about reffing, because it’s so frustrating to have a ref take center stage over the game, but this was objectively bad. That being said, Panama took full advantage of what they were given, and the U.S. had to fight for every inch.
Initially it didn’t appear the US would let the red cause many problems, as Folarin Balogun scored a screamer shortly after Tim Weah was sent off. Panama answered back quickly, though, and from that moment on it turned into a knife fight…almost literally. Panama had a player sent off in the dying moments after decking Christian Pulisic, then someone took Jedi’s knees out as they were searching for a late equalizer. Simply wild, and it was too much for the U.S. to overcome.
Welcome home, U.S. Soccer
59,145 was the announced attendance inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the crowd definitely made it feel like the home for U.S. Soccer. The chants were heavy, the boos (mostly at the ref) were extravagant, and it was simply a great atmosphere – despite the result. If this was an appetizer of things to come for the new home of U.S. Soccer in the future, it’ll be a fun tenure as Atlanta definitely brought the energy.
Here’s hoping the next matches here turn out much more favorably for the United States, but it’s great to see the USMNT back in our fair city.
Unfortunately in this one, I don’t have a ton more to say. Not a lot can be taken from the soccer performances when most of the match is played 11v10 and the game resembles MMA more than football. That’s international soccer, though, and it’s part of the sport we know and love. The U.S. just has to keep their head up and move forward.
Let us know below what you thought of the match!
First reaction is wtf was Weah thinking? If you can blame the loss on one player, that’s the guy.
Follow up reaction is we are not likely to beat Uruguay and get out of group stage, so Berkhalter gets fired.
Massive disappointment. Our most talented squad in years is no better than #1 in CONCACAF, which ain’t sayin’ much.
We can still get out of group with a loss to Uruguay, incredibly enough. If Bolivia beats Panama and the US loses a close match by only 1 or 2 goals, the US would go through. That’s the quick and easy to understand version. Unlike in Euro play where head to head results are the first tiebreaker, goal difference is the first tiebreaker. Bolivia hasn’t beaten Panama since 2008 though. Panama is also 41 places higher (Yeah, Bolivia is that bad.) in the international rankings.
I’ll try to remain optimistic – I thought Brazil would beat us even worse after watching what Columbia did to us in the friendly – but my expectations are low.
The good news: Uruguay doesn’t need to win but Bielsa is a competitor. We may tie.
Years of US soccer nation excitement and anticipation, millions of dollars of investment, a massive tournament, all shat down the pipes by one ridiculous moment of loss of control. It was incredibly depressing. Then to not see a strong formation change after our first goal was inexcusable. Weah screwed up, but GB lost it for us. Why the heck did they put in Vickers when they had Robinson on the bench. Is Robinson healthy? Our CBs have been absolute trash. Horrendous passing out of the back.
Uruguay is gonna have field day. I’ll keep the faith in our boys, but it ain’t lookin good.
Well, both of Panama’s goals reminded me of how Atlanta United gives up goals; very soft
I said exactly that sitting in the stands after Panama first goal. Same building, different teams, same song and dance.
i’m convinced at this point that richards has pictures of ggg. i do think that by the world cup window, richards may be one of the two best cbs on our roster. but right now he’s still got a lot of rough edges, and he’s good for providing at least one or two “oh shit” moments a match. not bagging on him. i truly think he’s a bright young talent. but to say he’s a step ahead of robinson right now is foolish imo. and then for ggg to leave him on the bench for ccv when you decide to sub on defense for offense? must have been the fumes coming off the pitch or something clouding his soccer brain.
All I know is that Robinson played a full 90 minutes in his last match before leaving, so that suggests “coach’s decision” as to why he isn’t playing.
Here’s my take on not subbing in Miles:
Robinson’s biggest strength is his recovery speed and physicality winning 1v1 duels. But you don’t need that when you’re playing a low block and counter a man down, and are constantly in front of your own goal anyway.
So US doesn’t get out of group stage, Berhalter gets fired….Berhalter to UTD?
Don’t even say that as a joke.
I didn’t watch nor do I really follow international soccer, but how did we lose to Panama? Is that expected?
Tim Weah thought it was a great idea to punch a Panama player in the back of the head and think he wasn’t going to end up getting a red card for it. I don’t care how good your team is. It is difficult to play 70+ min a man down.
In the pre-VAR days it might have worked, but he got enough notice to get a yellow card for it and that enabled the VAR official to look into it and get the ref to check the replay. Yeah, it was really dumb.
Is it expected? No, the USMNT should no more lose to Panama than we should expect South Georgia Tormenta to beat a full healthy Atlanta United squad. It could happen, but most likely it won’t. But the USMNT has a history of putting on its worst performances against crummy teams. The infamous hex loss on the road to Trinidad and Tobago in the last day of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for 2018 is a recent example.
i hate complaining about refs…most of the time…but this guy was a living illustration of officiating mentality gone completely off the rails. he seemingly walked into the stadium with a clear plan for himself, how he was going to be the focus and how he was going to impose his will in order to get the match he wanted. he reminded me of a much less skilled, much more arrogant mike dean…and that’s saying something.
that being said…we absolutely folded. utterly embarrassing to be that much better of a team (on paper), go up a goal, give it right back, and then sputter and stumble your way thru the next hour or so until you concede the goal that almost everyone felt was coming. and in the middle of that, ggg decides to sub off offense/ball control for defense, and brings in ccv who looked like a deer caught in headlights most of the match, including his cooperation on the losing goal.
ref shenanigans and the horribly immature red card by weah aside…we have no excuse for not coming away with the win, and less excuse than that for not at least coming away with a point. and if ggg’s post-match comments are to be believed, this team and staff knew exactly what to expect from this ref/team combination…and were still seemingly unprepared to handle their business. us soccer fed need only listen to his presser to understand the depths of their failure at picking a shepherd for what has clearly been the most talented generation ever in us soccer.
When panama scored right after the US I couldn’t help but think maybe it’s the stadium that’s cursed and it hasn’t been United’s fault that they always concede right after scoring.
I watched the game, and it is difficult to not understand what actually happened. What happened is that it was a very Concacaffy game within Copa America (a Conmebol competition), with two Concacaf teams, and a Concacaf referee. And, precisely when the USA are definitely leaving Concacaf (by now, your USNMT is really not a Concacaf team), they brought you back in, like Al Pacino would say.
Panama did exactly what a Concacaf team would be expected to do, and somehow, at home, with all the advantages, the USMNT played right into their plan.
That kind of field battle only benefits one side, and it is not yours. The lack of control plays into their hands. All of this, all of it, could have been predicted. Leadership should have prepared for this game, and never have allowed things to go this way. Of course they would provoke, and hope for cards. How else could they balance their chances? Psychologically, the USNMT was so poorly prepared, that they seemed surprised at what Panama was doing, as if this was not exactly what should have been expected. Leadership should have worked the state of mind of the players, specially those prone to exploding when provoked.
On top of all this, a referee from El Salvador was assigned, which does not make sense. Your federation should have demanded a good referee, if possible, a Conmebol one. This whole thing seems to naive. To risk all the work of the last years, and the talent of the best generation you have ever had, is too much.
This whole thing should never have happened. You lost the game because the USMNT did not reallty prepare, or they thought it was a done deal. How can a player do something that stupid, and get a red 15 minutes in to the match – an attack player!!! That sent the whole team into a literal hell.
And then, you really had to be a lot more compact, and tried to get the point. At that stage, losing was not acceptable, but a tie was good. You can tie Panama with 10 players.
Also, this player Pepi, definitely is not team material. Again he lost an incredible goal that any decent attack player would not lose. Why was he brought in?
I am sorry, but a good thing might come out: the firing of the coach. There is plenty of talent, there are two years ahead, and I believe a better coach would be wonderful.
I don´t know about Uruguay. They are already qualified, and they might, and should, rest players, and the next game is not vital to them.
You could beat them, though the current state of mind, and the pressure won´t help.
Still, best of luck. It would be a terrible loss for everyone if the US did not make past group stage.
even more than a terrible loss marcelo, it would be humiliating. not getting out of the group stage of a tournament we are guest hosting, and in a group where we are clearly (at least) the second most talented team, would be / should be disastrous.
There is so much more than football to football. I think the US need to understand they are a powerhouse in the Americas now, and to start acting like one. Forget Concacaf, and get into real Conmebol/FIFA power play. Demand proper refereeing, prepare for the games as a real power does. You should never allow things to go this much out of control. Powerhouses don´t lose players to stupid red cards. People know how they should act. You are absolutely not an underdog now, stop acting like one.
You need proper management, coaching. This current coach is too MLS, too Concacaf.
And, a coach who can´t get a result with this talent level, against Panama, even with a player less? This is not a coach for the current, and future USMNT.
Well, you said it all. Right from the beginning, we didn’t look right. One thing that’s become evident to me: two aspects I always felt we were strong in the past: goalkeeping and CB’s are now very flaky. I think we played like Peru or Bolivia, two teams at the bottom of CONMEBOL
Correct. I think the USA team do not understand where they are yet. They re becoming a powerhouse, but they still think like a smaller team. Look at Mexico. They are gone, and can´t compete at Conmebol level. The USA is the very opposite, but they need to realize that, and act accordingly.
The frustrating thing is outside of the dead years when we did not qualify for 2018, the US used to be incredibly mentally resolute, despite our more rudimentary tactical approaches and lower skill levels. Its why we were able to outperform our ability levels from time to time. Nearly beating you to win the ‘09 confederations cup is a good example.
We seem to have lost what used to be our greatest strength as our collective skill level has increased.
Good point about Uruguay resting players. They should, but if they don’t, I don’t see us beating them with GB at the helm.
They should, and will. The USA can beat them, but the pressure will be very high, and your coach is not up to the task.
1.Everything went downhill after the red card (besides the goal we scored)
2.What a stupid red card to get. Simply terrible.
3.How on planet Earth was there only 4 minutes of stoppage time?
4.Great atmosphere
5.Panama is a really annoying team to play. They feel like Atletico Madrid back in the day…
6.I can’t really think of anything that the ref did that was EXTREMELY poor (I especially liked how quick he was to give a red to Weah as most refs would look at so many dumb angles like just give a red man)
7.The Bald Berhalter should be gone after we lose to Uruguay
Well, with ggg’s luck, we tie Uruguay and Panama loses and…. GGG saves his skin.
Afraid this was a coffin nail for the US crashing out at group. No Weah, and against a pretty dominant Uruguay side… We likely lose that game. And if we do, our hopes depend on Bolivia beating Panama.
Hard to be mad at the 10 guys (and 5 subs) who were left holding the bag… They really busted ass for 72+ minutes, which is tough when you’re down a man that long. But Weah should have this hang as a cloud over his head his whole career.
I think we could’ve beaten them with 10 if we had pressed to get the ball. We were dangerous in the couple of counters we had. We were too deep and giving them way too much space. Pepi is not ready for the national team; he’s slightly above average club level player; way overhyped.
Ref was absolute garbage. Panama played like a bunch of thugs (I have zero respect for their team). Weah cost us the game, and very likely an exit at group stage.
Prediction – We lose to Uruguay and Berhalter is fired shortly there after.
Well, the USMNT losing streak in Atlanta continues and US is in real danger of crashing out now
Too bad for the fans. It was a good atmosphere but wondered why was an organized supporter section not present?
same here. i was there and the fans were great. but was very disappointed that the american outlaws were not there in an organized force. i wonder if copa america didn’t allow blocking tickets or sections? that was a bit of a bummer.