ATLANTA — Nothing ever comes easy for the U.S. men's national team.
After an early red card hurled the American squad into a self-dug hole in , Panama began a relentless attack that culminated in a go-ahead goal with less than 10 minutes remaining to snare a frenzied, chaotic game here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The loss means the now faces an uphill challenge to even reach the knockout round, and once again faces challenges of its own making. Chaos seems to follow this team around, and the first half was a spectacle all its own.
In the space of about 20 minutes in the first half, fans here saw: A brilliant goal off a deflection ...
that VAR promptly disallowed. A brutal midair collision where Panama’s César Blackman ran through American keeper Matt Turner, sending Turner spiraling to the turf and landing hard on his shoulder. Blackman was let off with a stern talking-to, and no more.
A red card for USMNT’s , who popped Panama’s Roderick Miller in the back of the head away from the ball. That left the United States short-handed, but just minutes later ..
. A magnificent long-distance goal from Folarin Balogun to put the down-a-man United States up 1-0. It was a moment of extreme joy, but it wouldn’t last.
BALOOOOOOGUN!!!! 🇺🇸🚀 What a BEAUTY for the to take the lead 🖼️✨ — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) An equalizer than Blackman — who had previously pummeled Turner — snuck in with a left-edge strike to equalize the match: AND JUST LIKE THAT PANAMA TIES .
