INGLEWOOD — The USMNT’s run of CONCACAF Nations League titles is over.
Cecilio Waterman finally landed the knockout punch in stoppage time.
With the scoreless semifinal match looking like it was headed to extra time on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium, Waterman got possession on the right wing and hit a low shot from just outside the penalty area that eluded U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner and sent the Panamian bench into wild celebrations.
Waterman hopped the video board and ran toward the Paramount+ broadcast table and hugged legendary player Thierry Henry.
With the goal, Waterman propelled Panama to a 1-0 win and into Sunday’s final against either Canada or Mexico. The U.S. will meet the loser of the Canada-Mexico game in the third-place match on Sunday.
The Americans, who have won the previous three Nations League tournaments (2021, 2023 and 2024), suffered their first loss under Coach Mauricio Pochettino, who took over in September.
The U.S. nearly broke the scoreless stalemate in the 84th minute. Patrick Agyemang’s shot, after he fought off the physical pressure of Carlos Harvey, was turned away by Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera. Agyemang had another chance moments later, when Christian Pulisic made an end-line and cut the ball back to Agyemang, who was making a central run in front of goal.
This edition of the tournament has been viewed as having added importance as the countdown begins toward next year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The American team will also compete for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer, but Pochettino will likely not have his full first-team roster available for that event.
The USMNT’s once-easy work against Panama is no longer the case. Panama defeated the U.S. on penalty kicks in the third-place game of the 2015 Gold Cup and again in the 2023 Gold Cup semifinals. The nations split their 2022 World Cup qualifiers and Panama beat a short-handed American squad in group play in last year’s Copa America, 2-1, when the hosts failed to reach the knockout stage.
This was the U.S. team’s first match since January, when Pochettino’s squad defeated Venezuela (3-1) and Costa Rica (3-0).
Very little happened in the first half of this one – for either team.
The best two chances came for the Americans and one wouldn’t have counted. Josh Sargent’s first chance, from the 6-yard mark, hit a defender and then hit the post. He scored on his second, but Timothy Weah was offside in the buildup, negating the goal.
Sargent didn’t see much of the ball the rest of the night and was eventually subbed off in the 69th minute.
More to come on this story.