US men look no closer to World Cup goals after Panama's 1-0 upset win in CONCACAF Nations League

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino took over the U.S. men's national team last year with the goal of getting it ready to thrive at its home World Cup in 2026.

Six months into Pochettino's project, the Americans don't appear to be any closer to that goal after getting stunned yet again by plucky Panama.

The U.S. lost 1-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals Thursday night on a goal in the fourth minute of second-half injury time by Cecilio Waterman.

But not much about the first 93 minutes suggested the Americans are ready to play for the biggest prizes in the world, let alone on their own continent. They've now flopped in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2024 Copa America and 2025 Nations League, all at home and twice with their primary player pool.

“There’s still time, 15 months, but just to pay attention is not enough,” Pochettino said of his World Cup goal. “The last three times we’ve faced Panama in official competition, we were not able to beat them. I think that is a question mark, but it’s a question mark that we need to work together to find the solution. What I told them the last few days (is) we can win, but what we need to do is to be competitive. And today in the first half, the team didn’t show that level of competitivity.”

Just like a few U.S. coaches before him, Pochettino couldn’t find ways to get the Americans through the five-defender low block at the base of Panama’s conservative 5-4-1 formation. The few U.S. scoring chances came to nothing, and Pochettino's team couldn't mount a consistent strategy.

“We didn’t shoot from distance,” Pochettino said. “This type of thing we need to use more. It wasn’t a good performance. In the second half, we were better, but never was the feeling we could score.”

Not many fans saw this disappointing outing — and perhaps that's a good thing. The match was available only on streaming services in an English-language broadcast in the U.S. because of commitments by CBS and Turner to the NCAA basketball tournament.

While the U.S. controlled two-thirds of the possession and put five of its 12 shots on target against Panama, Pochettino acknowledged his Americans lacked both creativity and a finishing touch. Striker Josh Sargent didn't finish his chances, and the Americans once again struggled for quality service into scoring positions, with Christian Pulisic contributing little of impact while the U.S. had nine corners.

“The result is the result, (but) today with a different result, my (feelings) would be the same: disappointed,” Pochettino said. “Because today, even if you win the game, in the action that we had in the second half … it’s not the way we want to be moving forward with the objective to play in the World Cup, with the objective to be competitive.”

The pitch at SoFi Stadium is a few yards narrower than most soccer fields, and Pochettino thought the dimensions favored Panama’s conservative defensive approach. He also acknowledged his team’s responsibility to find a way through any obstacle.

Patrick Agyemang replaced Sargent in the second half, and the Charlotte forward also failed to convert his chances, including two good opportunities in the final nine minutes before injury time.

Europe-based U.S. forwards Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun are injured and Haji Wright is regaining fitness following a lengthy layoff, but the Americans’ problems are unlikely to be solved solely by improved play up front. Their patchwork defense wasn't frequently tested by Panama, but more offensively potent opponents could expose flaws on the back end as well.

And even goalkeeper Matt Turner came in for criticism of his positioning on Waterman's goal. Turner has only played four times for Crystal Palace this season, all in cup competitions.

As Pochettino said, the Americans still have time to improve before the World Cup. But that time is dwindling: Pochettino will have his full player pool for just five training camps before players report ahead of the tournament in 2026.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

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