The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods.
Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time.
Photo: AP
Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat Canada 2-0 in California.
After beating Honduras in November last year in the Nations League quarter-finals, Mexico have won back-to-back matches for the first time since their run to the 2023 Gold Cup title.
El Tri won that trophy at SoFi Stadium, with Santi Gimenez’s late goal beating Panama 1-0 in the final.
For the US, their latest loss to Panama is a massive blow as their only chance to collect silverware before co-hosting next year’s World Cup with Mexico and Canada now rests with the June 14 to July 6 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The US came into the game hoping to avenge a loss to Panama at last year’s Copa America where the hosts failed to reach the knockout stage, a humiliating result that led to the firing of head coach Gregg Berhalter.
The US had several chances in the latter portion of the game as the toll of defending all night seemed to sap the Panama players’ strength and left them unable to generate much in the way of an attack until the late turnover.
The US remain the only team to win the CONCACAF Nations League — which launched in 2019 and is modeled after its UEFA counterpart — having triumphed in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Canada would face the struggling US in the third-place match tomorrow in the latest international sporting competition between neighbors put at odds by US President Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and tariff threats.
The 4 Nations hockey tournament last month featured Canadian fans booing the US national anthem.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before