LOS ANGELES - There's just something about Panama. Something about this team that consistently throws the U.S. men's national team into these dark places. Three tournament matchups, three losses to Panama. It's inexplicable.
New coach, same problem, ultimately, as Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT became the latest edition of this squad to fall to Los Canaleros, with the host team stunned on home soil yet again. Thursday's CONCACAF Nations League semifinal ended in shocking fashion, 1-0, with Cecelio Waterman burying the U.S. with a 94th-minute winner.
For the first time, Panama are into this competition's finale. And for the first time the USMNT are not.
Having won all three previous iterations of this tournament, this marks the first time the USMNT have tasted the sting of the defeat. The USMNT outshot Panama 12-3 - putting five on target - earned nine corner kicks and enjoyed two-thirds of the possession.
And yet? A turnover, a half chance and, suddenly, a defeat. It didn't take much for Waterman to send the U.S. into Sunday's third-place game against Canada, which lost 2-0 to Mexico. This was another dark night for a national team that, under new management, have had such bright expectations. There have been far too many results like this over the last few years.
"We played too slow, too comfortable on the pitch," Pochettino said. "We didn't show aggression with the ball and there are consequences to not showing aggression with the ball. We also didn't show aggression in a defensive way."
With the World Cup some 450 days away, maybe this is the wake-up call they needed to really understand how much work needs to be done. Maybe, though, it's a sign of a team that can't seem to step up in big moments.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from SoFi Stadium.