Something happened in the 78th minute of Wednesday night's Gold Cup semifinal that most USA soccer fans thought would be common by this point in the team's development. Freddy Adu found Landon Donovan with a long pass, Donovan put a ball in front of the net, and Clint Dempsey finished it off for the 1-0 win over Panama.
Donovan came on for the start of the second-half, with US National Team coach Bob Bradley sticking with the setup he used against Jamaica. With Jozy Altidore injured, Juan Agudelo got the start. Agudelo subbed out in the 66th minute for Adu, who made his first appearance for the National Team since the 2009 Gold Cup.
”It was very important for me, personally, and very important for the team," Adu said. "I haven’t stepped on the field for the national team in over two years. To get a chance to be out there, I was very happy and very fortunate. The goal as a substitute is to get out there and bring a lot of energy and make a difference. It worked out well.”
The win advances the United States to the 2011 Gold Cup final. The USA will face Mexico, who needed overtime to beat Honduras 2-0.
-- GAME REPORT --
Match: United States vs. Panama
Date: June 22, 2011
Competition: CONCACAF Gold Cup – Semifinal
Venue: Reliant Stadium – Houston, Texas
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT
Attendance: xxx
Weather: Indoor
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
PAN 0 0 0
USA – Clint Dempsey (Landon Donovan) 76th minute
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 21-Clarence Goodson, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 14-Eric Lichaj; 4-Michael Bradley, 13-Jermaine Jones; 22-Alejandro Bedoya, 16-Sacha Kljestan (10-Landon Donovan, 46), 8-Clint Dempsey; 9-Juan Agudelo (20-Freddy Adu, 66)
Subs not used: 7-Maurice Edu, 11-Chris Wondolowski, 12-Jonathan Bornstein, 15-Tim Ream, 23-Marcus Hahnemann
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
PAN: 1-Jaime Penedo; 5-Román Torres, 14-Eduardo Dasent, 17-Luis Henríquez, 23-Felipe Baloy (capt.); 6-Gabriel Gómez (20-Anibal Godoy, 86), 10-Nelson Barahona (8-Gabriel Torres, 86), 11-Armando Cooper (16-Luis Renteria, 71), 21-Amilcar Henríquez; 18-Luis Tejada, 19-Alberto Quintero
Subs not used: 3-Harold Cummings, 4-Aramis Haywood, 9-Renan Addles, 12-Luis Mejía, 15-Eric Davis, 19-Alberto Quintero, 22-Eybir Bonaga
Head Coach: Julio Dely Valdes
Stats Summary: USA / PAN
Shots: 5 / 8
Shots on goal: 1 / 2
Saves: 2 / 0
Fouls: 21 / 10
Corners: 2 / 3
Offside: 2 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
PAN – Armando Cooper (caution) 18th minute
PAN – Luis Henríquez (caution) 36
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (caution) 68
PAN – Gabriel Gomez (caution) 72
Officials:
Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (SUR)
Assistant Referee 1: Hector Vergara (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Leonel Leal (CRC)
Fourth Official: David Gantar (CAN)
