COMMERCE CITY, COLO. – A slow start for the United States Under-23 national team against Panama didn’t bring panic or doubt Tuesday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in their third Olympic qualifying match.
The Americans made changes at halftime in mentality and on the field to win going away, 4-0, ahead of Saturday's win-and-qualify semifinal against either Mexico or Honduras.
“We were kind of slow in the first half on the attacking end,” admitted Real Salt Lake’s Luis Gil. “They put the pressure on us a little bit as well. They kind of wanted it more than we did in the first half. I was playing a little bit deeper in the first half, so I wasn’t able to get up as much. In the second half, once one goal came, three more came right after it. We were patient in the second half, and the game opened up for us.”
A big part of the strong second half came from the play of Gboly Ariyibi and halftime substitutes Jordan Morris and Jerome Kiesewetter, all major factors in spreading Panama out and keeping pressure in the US' attacking third.
“We just went out in the second half and tried to put more pressure on the ball," Ariyibi said. “The manager told me to keep the width, which I did. We did well going forward.”
It was his move into the box and cross in the 50th minute that resulted in a deflection off of a Panama defender for an own goal and a 1-0 US lead. Two more goals in the next six minutes, by Kiesewetter and Morris, respectively, opened the floodgates that led to the easy win in the end.
“As a defender, you have to be on red alert,” said center back Cameron Carter-Vickers. “But when you bring on players like Jordan Morris and Jerome (Kiesewetter), you’re always going to get opportunities to take.”
Kiesewetter set up the fourth and final goal on a tricky individual run in possession, only to be brought down in the penalty area. Gil converted his second penalty kick in three games to end the night’s scoring over a dejected Panama.
“We put more pressure on them, and that’s how we won the game,” Kiesewetter said. “It was pretty hard in the first half because they were better organized, but they kind of lost their shape in the second half.”
The US finished a dominating plus-11 in their three group games, sending them into the critical semifinals with plenty of confidence.
“The way we’ve been playing, we all have team spirit and we all work well together,” Ariyibi said. “I think it was more or less we wanted to finish the group stage very strong.”
