World Cup qualifier: USMNT face Panama, look to take another step toward Qatar 2022

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Sitting pretty all alone atop CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying standings, the United States men’s national team has another opportunity to inch ever closer to Qatar 2022 on Sunday.

Riding a two-match winning streak, the Americans will travel to Panama (6 p.m. ET, Paramount+/Universo) for the second of their three October matches.

After starting the 14-match "Octagonal" marathon last month with a pair of disappointing ties, these young Americans are finding their stride. They chartered to Panama City on a high Friday following their stirring 2-0 victory over Jamaica on Thursday.

"It was a huge result for us against Jamaica," U.S. midfielder Kellyn Acosta said Saturday before the team trained inside a rainy Estadio Rommel Fernandez. "We’re going to use that momentum in this game [Sunday] and beyond."

That’s the idea, anyway. 

As Gregg Berhalter’s team found out last month, playing on the road in Central America is always an adventure. With an unprecedented combination of talent and inexperience, the USMNT struggled more than most expected in an Octagonal-opening scoreless draw in El Salvador.

And for 45 minutes in Honduras, the U.S. looked dead and buried before Berhalter’s tactical and personnel tweaks at halftime sparked a furious second-half rally that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1, confidence-boosting triumph.

Along with vaulting the U.S. over Mexico and Canada and into first place, the win over Jamaica on Thursday understandably also sent the good vibes through the roof. Berhalter cautioned afterward that if his players let down even a little bit, "we’ll get our ass kicked in Panama."

Los Canaleros will definitely be up for the fight. Fourth-place Panama can’t afford to lose at home after suffering a 1-0 defeat in San Salvador midweek. Add in the soggy conditions – thunderstorms are forecast right around kickoff – and things could get interesting quick.

"Panama’s definitely a very physical team, an aggressive team. We have to be able to match that right away," Acosta said.  "They’re looking from the first minute to take it to us."

Defensively, the Americans have been sound, conceding just two goals through the first four qualifiers. A defense anchored by center back Miles Robinson and goalkeeper Matt Turner – the only two U.S. players to log all 1,020 minutes so far – hasn’t allowed many high-quality scoring opportunities.

But while the U.S. attack has exploded for six goals in its last three halves of soccer, Panama figures to be harder to break down. It’s the stingiest opponent the Americans have faced yet.

"They don’t let up a lot of chances," Berhalter said, noting Panama allows the second-lowest expected goals – a metric that measures the probability that a particular shot will find the net.

"It's a good team. It's a very physically strong team. They'll be very aggressive in duels. They're very good attacking in the penalty box."

And, the U.S. will be even more shorthanded. Berhalter was already without attacking stars Christian Pulisic and Giovanni Reyna and veteran defender John Brooks this month. Now, Weston McKennie – another automatic starter – is out, having remained stateside this weekend with a sore quad (The hope is McKennie will recover quickly enough to feature in the final October contest, on Wednesday against Costa Rica in Columbus, Ohio).

England-based duo Zack Steffen and Antonee Robinson – Robinson was excellent in both U.S. wins – also flew directly to Columbus from Austin, Texas because British travel restrictions would’ve required them to quarantine upon their return to the U.K. had they set foot in Panama.

"It’s a three-game window – it wasn't likely that we're going to play those players three times, 90 minutes," Berhalter said. "We made the best possible decision taking the human element into it, taking the club side into it and taking our needs to win games, balancing all three things."

Acosta is likely to replace McKennie as a two-way central midfielder. Right back Sergiño Dest, who set up the first of Pepi’s two goals versus the Reggae Boyz, could take Robinson’s place on the opposite side, with 2014 World Cup vet DeAndre Yedlin filling Dest’s spot.

There are some load-management concerns with Pepi, who has logged heavy minutes of late with the USMNT and his MLS club FC Dallas. But the fact that Berhalter subbed him out in the 67th minute against Jamaica – not to mention his three goals in back-to-back Man of the Match performances – suggest he’ll keep his spot up top. Steffen is now the clear No. 2 keeper behind Turner.

As much as the visitors will miss McKennie and Robinson in Panama, there’s a sense the U.S. is better prepared for what they’ll face Sunday than they were before qualifying began. While overconfidence is the enemy, a little well-earned swagger could help. 

"It's a really young team," Berhalter said. "We need to gain this experience, and all these games are helpful in doing that."

A tie in Panama would be acceptable, so long as the U.S. takes care of business at home Wednesday against the Ticos. But after beating Honduras in San Pedro Sula last trip, you can’t blame the Americans for wanting more. 

"Getting the win away was huge," Acosta said. "Knowing that you can go into tough conditions, grind out and get a result, I think that helped the group realize that we’re capable of doing it – and that it’s going to take a lot to do so."

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.