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Berhalter shuffled his tactical deck at halftime, making a triple substitution and arranging his side in a 5-3-1 shape intended to clog up the midfield and limit Panama’s deliveries from wide areas. While completely conceding possession, it mostly worked, as the Central Americans were held to less than one expected goal on the night, their number slightly eclipsed by the USMNT’s in that category.
Yet Panama only needed one opportunity, and they got it seven minutes from full time when José Fajardo – who spent a brief stint at D.C. United under Wayne Rooney last year – lashed a smart centering pass from Abidel Ayarza off Horvath’s hands and into the net to set off perhaps the loudest alarm bells of Berhalter’s five years in charge.
“It’s one moment. When you look at look at the stats, you look at the chances that we gave up, it was really only that one moment that the guy gets an open look,” said a defiant Berhalter when asked about his second-half approach. “We didn’t deal with the first ball very well. We didn’t deal with the second ball very well, and then too much space between our center backs on the cross. But, I mean, besides that, we’re talking about very, very little production from Panama and really a tremendous effort by the guys to dig in there, work for each other, keep our shape and keep moving.
“For us, it was really about picking and choosing the moments to counterattack, but being difficult to break down,” he later added. “And for the most part, besides on the goal, we did that. Again, one lapse, we got punished for it. But I think we were solid enough to get out and away with a point.”
A draw would have been a lifeline, mainly because it would have denied Panama two points ahead of their group-stage finale vs. Bolivia, who have looked overmatched at this event. The USMNT must assume Panama will win that fixture, which means their own quarterfinal hopes hinge on upsetting Uruguay, whom Marcelo Bielsa has shaped into a ferocious favorite to win it all.
“Pressure is part of what we what we sign up for. That’s part of this job, representing a national team is a tremendous honor, and there’s a lot of expectations that come along with it,” said Berhalter. “Today, as I reiterate, was an extremely disappointing result. But the effort was there and if we put in the same type of effort in this game, in terms of the work effort and the togetherness, we’ll have a shot to beat Uruguay. We know it’s going to be difficult, but we’re going to give it our best.”
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