USA opens Gold Cup against familiar foe, toughest group opponent: Panama

Panama has had a say in the USA's Gold Cup fate in each of the past six tournaments, and it will again this year—even though Saturday’s game is their first of the competition.

The USA’s quest for a sixth continental championship begins Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, where Bruce Arena’s team will play a Panamanian side that’s become a relatively frequent opponent in recent years. Los Canaleros have had a say in the Americans’ CONCACAF Gold Cup fate in each of the past six tournaments, and they will again this year—even though Saturday’s game is their first of the competition.

The Group B opener at Nissan Stadium will be, by far, the USA’s most challenging match of the group stage. The quartet’s other two teams, Nicaragua and Martinique, have won a combined two Gold Cup games in their modest histories. For the USA and Panama, advancement to the knockout rounds isn’t a question. What’s at stake is their position in the bracket. The Group B winner will face a third-place finisher from one of the other two groups on July 19 in Philadelphia. The runner-up will be paired against the Group A winner—likely Costa Rica or Honduras—and face a tougher path to the semifinals.

“I think it’s going to be a great test against Panama,” U.S. midfielder Paul Arriola told reporters. “I think it’s going to be the key to moving forward in the tournament.”

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Panama isn’t a traditional regional power, but it's been a much more difficult out over the past decade-plus. The USA has beaten Los Canaleros in two Gold Cup finals, but just barely. The U.S. needed penalty kicks in 2005 at the old Giants Stadium, and in ’13, the Americans outlasted Panama at Soldier Field thanks to a fortunate second-half tap-in from Brek Shea.

Panama is responsible for the USA’s only group-stage defeat in Gold Cup history, a 2-1 setback in ’11 in Tampa. They took the Americans to extra time in the ’09 quarterfinals and two years ago, comprehensively outplayed Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad in a dispiriting bronze medal game decided on penalties.

“I feel like we see them every couple of months,” said U.S. defender Graham Zusi, who’s famous in Panama and Mexico for the 2013 goal that crushed the World Cup dreams of the former and saved those of the latter. “They’re a dangerous team. They counter pretty well and their set pieces are very dangerous as well. It’s a game we’re going to have to be locked in for a full 90 minutes.”

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Dom Dwyer - USA

Dwyer, an English-American dual-national, scored on his debut for the USA in a friendly vs. Ghana, and a breakout performance in the Gold Cup could put him firmly on Bruce Arena's World Cup radar (provided the USA qualifies, of course)

Alphonso Davies - Canada

At 16, Davies is the most intriguing Canadian prospect in some time. He's drawing eyes overseas, opening eyes in MLS for Vancouver and could be the Gold Cup's breakout star.

Mark Geiger - Referee

Referees always play a huge part in Gold Cups. Always. It wouldn't be CONCACAF without a handful of "CONCACAF'd" moments, and Geiger was at the center of it all in 2015. The spotlight will be firmly on the accomplished American official.

Florent Malouda - French Guiana

CONCACAF has confirmed to SI.com that Malouda is ineligible to play, due to representing France for years in official competitions and a rule change that prevents players from playing for non-FIFA nations in official competitions. Nevertheless, Malouda may play anyway, meaning French Guiana will have to forfeit its matches. Stay tuned.

Rodolfo Zelaya - El Salvador

Zelaya was once banned in a match-fixing scandal that rocked El Salvador, but he's one of the region's most talented attacking players and could cause problems for the opposition.

Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica

No team boasts a dynamic duo quite like Costa Rica's veteran tandem. If Los Ticos are to become the first Central American team to win the competition, Campbell and Ruiz will be a big reason why.

Leandro Bacuna - Curacao

The Aston Villa midfielder is one of the more accomplished players in the competition at the club level, and if Curacao is to have a shot at pulling any surprises, it's on Bacuna to deliver.

Andre Blake - Jamaica

The Philadelphia Union goalkeeper has already shown he belongs on the club and international level, but without Wes Morgan marshaling the back line in front of him, he could be called on in a big way in hopes of leading Jamaica back to the final after its surprise 2015 showing.

Kevin Parsemain - Martinique

Martinique's all-time leading scorer will be tasked with leading the minnow in a group with the USA, Panama and Nicaragua.

Orbelin Pineda - Mexico

Pineda's Chivas de Guadalajara strike partner Alan Pulido is out of the competition with a broken arm, meaning it's on Pineda to lead the charge for El Tri's second-choice attack.

Juan Carlos Osorio - Mexico

Well, Osorio is suspended for the competition thanks to his outburst in the Confederations Cup third-place game vs. Portugal. All eyes will be on his replacement (likely Luis Pompilio Páez) and his staff – and how the reaction is in Mexico to his absence. There's never a dull moment on El Tri's hot seat.

Confidence seems high around the U.S. camp following last week’s 2-1 friendly win over Ghana, a team more talented than most of the Gold Cup field. This is an experimental American team missing big-name veterans like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Tim Howard and European stars like Christian Pulisic, Fabian Johnson and Geoff Cameron. In their place, Arena is taking a long look at several players who might state their case for a role in this fall’s World Cup qualifiers or, perhaps, next summer’s big show in Russia. If they can make amends for a fourth-place finish two years ago and lift the Gold Cup at the end of the month, all the better.

Arena’s new team showed well against Ghana. Forward Dom Dwyer was plugged in for his USA debut and finished one of the handful of decent scoring chances he created against the Black Stars. Veteran Chicago Fire midfielder Dax McCarty and up-and-coming FC Dallas star Kellyn Acosta were composed and in control in the middle of Arena’s 4-4-1-1, while Joe Corona and Kelyn Rowe each showed flashes of creativity. In back, the experience of Zusi, Matt Besler, Jorge Villafaña and goalkeeper Brad Guzan helped shore things up. It’s probably close to the starting lineup Arena will deploy against Panama, which like Ghana is an athletic side that attacks directly.

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“I thought it was a good performance against a good team,” Arena said following the Ghana game. “I think it helps us answer some questions we have about certain players. It was a good game to get us prepared for the game against Panama.”

Said Zusi, “I thought looking back at the Ghana game, that was a very good intro game to lead into this tournament. I thought the guys responded very well, and Panama is going to pose kind of a similar task to deal with…It’ll be a good test for us at the beginning of the tournament.”

Like the USA, Panama—which is in fourth place in the Hexagonal, one point behind the Americans—is resting some of its regulars for the Gold Cup. Among the familiar names being given the summer off are goalie Jaime Penedo; defenders Felipe Baloy, Román Torres and Adolfo Machado; midfielder Alberto Quintero and forwards Luis Tejada and Blas Pérez. Instead, Panama’s team likely will revolve around San Jose Earthquakes linchpin Aníbal Godoy, Toronto FC’s Armando Cooper and former Philadelphia Union midfielder Gabriel Gómez. The most experienced forward in camp is Gabriel Torres, who played for the Colorado Rapids in 2013-15.

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For both teams, the collective chemistry will be relatively new. But there are plenty of familiar faces, and these teams are accustomed to playing each other with something on the line. The only difference is that this time, the repercussions will be felt further down the road—both individually and as a unit.

“Especially for the younger guys, it’s a great opportunity to step on the biggest stage that we can be on right now and show that [we] can step up and make an impact,” Arriola said. “That’s what everyone is looking for and that’s what everyone is hoping for, and that’s what we’re expected to do—not just from everyone outside of the team and the federation but inside as well. I think all of us are very confident in one another. I think against Ghana we showed great potential and we did really well together for the first time.”