The USMNT Falls to Panama in a penalty shootout in the Gold Cup 2023 semifinals. Panama advanced to the final, which will be their first Gold Cup final since 2013. USMNT interim head coach B.J. Callaghan took the blame for the defeat.
Many fans were stunned by USMNT Falls to Panama, while others felt that Panama was the worthy winner. USMNT Twitter was generally not thrilled with the result. Ryan Phillips, a sports writer and editor, tweeted that the USMNT didn’t deserve to win the match and that they were thoroughly outplayed by Panama. Ives Galarcep, a soccer journalist and founder of Soccer By Ives, tweeted that Panama was the worthy winner and that the overall team showing was underwhelming.
Simo Idrissi, an analytical personality who works for SCPPNews, shared his thoughts on the game. He believes that quality is essential at this level and that years of player identification can help overcome any inferiority. Assigning roles to players and providing them with game tactics can help them outperform their opponents. While Panama was enthusiastic about winning, the USMNT focused more on the application. Simo suggests that players should have enough time to innovate. He acknowledges that the United States Soccer Federation has a strong coaching education curriculum, but creating elite or national players requires serious workers and harvesters. Player identification is crucial, and players have only five to seven years to be ready.
As a coach in the United States, Simo believes that the USSF and USC are doing their best to help coaches develop, but he also recognizes that prioritizing talent is a unique process that requires opportunities for talented coaches to showcase their knowledge in preparing players.