Things are getting interesting for the U.S. men's national team in Copa America.
After beating Bolivia 2-0 in the opener, the U.S. started strong against Panama in the second group game on Thursday, with Weston McKennie scoring an early goal that was eventually ruled out by VAR.
The U.S. still dominated from there, but an 18th-minute Tim Weah red card completely changed the game state, resulting in a 2-1 comeback win for Panama.
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Despite the red card, the U.S. struck first in the 22nd minute thanks to Folarin Balogun's magical left-footed shot, his second goal of the tournament.
It was the exact response the U.S. needed given it was down to 10 men and needed a moment to go ahead for extra comfort.
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But the lead didn't last long.
Panama tied it just four minutes later when Cesar Blackman found the bottom left corner, somehow getting his shot past Chris Richards, Tim Ream and Matt Turner.
The intensity of the game picked up from there, with both sides exchanging tough fouls. Not all of them saw a card.
In one instance, Turner went up to claim a cross but was ran into by a Panama player and landed awkwardly. No card was issued, and Turner had to be replaced by Ethan Horvath at halftime with what was said to be a leg injury.
Panama didn't do much in the early stages of the second half, rather Balogun continued to impress in limited spaces. However, he was replaced by Ricardo Pepi in the 72nd minute.
Pepi, who missed several key chances against Bolivia, botched a header around 10 minutes later that could've given the U.S. the lead. Instead, Panama took the lead right after in the 83rd minute via Jose Fajardo, with Horvath not reacting fast enough despite having a solid chance of parrying it.
Panama then went down to 10 men in the 88th minute when Adalberto Carrasquilla made a dangerous tackle attempt on Christian Pulisic.
However, the U.S. couldn't find the equalizer in time and fell in disappointing fashion.
The next game for the U.S. is against Uruguay, which is, on paper, the team with the most quality in Group C.
Had the U.S. beat Panama, it would've been in prime position to advance to the knockout rounds no matter the result against Uruguay.
Now, though, the U.S. and Panama will be level on three points entering the final group game, with the latter having the easier opponent in Bolivia.
Uruguay and Bolivia will play later on Thursday, but the U.S. will have a hill to climb if the latter cannot pull off an upset.
At the moment, the U.S. has the superior goal differential to Panama that puts it in second place, but who advances will come down to the final group games on Monday, July 1.
Both the U.S.-Uruguay and Panama-Bolivia games will start at 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT.
