Panama sealed third in CONCACAF GOLD CUP 2015
Panama sealed their
third consecutive top-three placement at the Gold Cup, having finished as
runners-up in 2013 and third in 2011. Concacaf Gold Cup for the USA, giving them a fourth-place finish, their worst in 15 years.
Goalkeeper Luis Mejía denied USA captain Michael Bradley with a
diving stop in the shootout to give Panama the 3-2 shootout win and third place
in the tournament.A pair of second-half USA
substitutes found the equalizer and kept the Americans in the match after
falling behind. In the 70th minute, DeAndre Yedlin chested down a long ball and
knocked it into the path of an on-running Clint Dempsey, who slid his shot past
Mejía.
Roberto Nurse opened scoring by
collecting a slip pass 10 minutes into the second half and cutting through Tim
Ream and John Brooks, who looked to have given up on the play. Nurse was given
plenty of time and finished neatly inside the far post, past goalkeeper Brad
Guzan.
Klinsmann chose to experiment with his starting lineup for the low-risk
affair, with Clint Dempsey, DeAndre Yedlin and Kyle Beckermanamong those not in the starting
lineup.
But though the risk was slight,
Panama swiftly looked to punish their opponents' judgment. They were lively in
the opening exchanges, though they didn't cause United States No. 1 Brad Guzan any genuine
trouble.
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