A CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal clash kicked off early on Thursday morning (13th), with defending champions hosts USA meeting an unexpected Waterloo. They drew 1-1 with Panama after 120 minutes of intense play and lost 4-5 on penalties. Panama thus advances to the final and will play Mexico for the Gold Cup title in the early morning of Monday (17th).
This year's U.S. team, led by a new face, did not show a clear advantage against Panama. The two teams exchanged blanks in regulation time and had to go into overtime. Panama's sharper offense broke the deadlock in the 99th minute with Ayun Andersen, while the U.S. equalized six minutes later with Jacey Ferrara. In the penalty shootout, each team made one mistake in the first five rounds, but in the decisive "sudden death" phase, the U.S.'s Gustin Lourdain missed and Panama's Carla Skylar sealed the deal, making it to the final of the Gold Cup again since 2013.
