Panama’s next contest is Friday against Honduras in Boston while Haiti squares off against the United States the same day.
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The United States men’s soccer team (USMNT) will face Haiti in its second match of the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a tournament held every two years between the top national teams of North America, Central America and the Caribbean to decide the regional championship. Two set-piece goals from Clint Dempsey were enough for the Yanks; However, many things should be improved upon heading into the match against Haiti. Dempsey was in the right place at the right time when Honduran goalkeeper Donis Escober kicked a Jozy Altidore rebound right to him in the center of the box and he made no mistake nodding it home in front of the crowd of 22,300.
The US opened up the 2003 Gold Cup at Gillette Stadium with a 2-0 win against El Salvador.
He was on target again in the 64th minute with another header, putting in Michael Bradleys free kick, as the hosts took control of the game. They failed to score on Bryan Acosta’s corner in the 89th minute.
Eager to equalize, Honduras would attack in waves, regularly springing the US’ frail offside trap, but time would run out before they could score another. A motivated Dempsey – he may feel he has something to prove after having his captaincy stripped away – could carry the U.S. all the way through the tournament. “Once we scored the goal they couldn’t press like they wanted to because they couldn’t afford to give up another”.
The Panamanians had more possession and the better scoring chances in a scoreless first half. The best chance for Los Catrachos through the early goings fell to Anthony Lozano, leading the line, but his effort was saved by Brad Guzan, who got down low to get a strong arm on his drive. “It was a very tight game which is what we expected”.
Against Haiti, the Americans will likely face a swarming defense and a counter-heavy offense similar to that of Honduras. He made a close-range save on Anthony Lozano’s attempt in the third minute and put a long shot from Acosta over the crossbar a few minutes later.
He said: “In Haiti, we have players who play all over the world, in first division in Europe as well as the MLS.”
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CONCACAF: FRISCO, Texas – July 8, 2015 -Duckens Nazon scored a dramatic late equalizer to give Haiti a 1-1 Group A draw in the opening match of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday. In the first game of the double-header, Alberto Quintero began the scoring in the 55th minute for Panama, who were the surprise team of the last Gold Cup in 2013 when they finished runners-up to the U.S. Trinidad and Tobago takes on Guatemala also in Chicago. By retaining its title the United States would qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russian Federation along with the rest of the planet’s continental champions.
