PREVIEW: Youthful USMNT Set to Face Panama in Austria

CHICAGO (Nov. 15, 2020)—The U.S. Men’s National Team will close out the November international window against a familiar foe in an unfamiliar locale- facing regional rival Panama in Austria on Monday, Nov. 16. After showing promising signs in a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Wales on Thursday in Swansea in which six players make their USMNT debuts, the USA will look to end its first training camp since February on a high note.

 

Coverage of USA-Panama from from Wiener Neustadter Stadion in Wiener Neustadt, Austria begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, UniMás and TUDN. Fans will also be able to follow via Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT, Facebook, and the official U.S. Soccer App.

 

Thursday’s match against Wales was the USA’s first match on a FIFA fixture date since November 2019 and welcomed many of the USA’s rising young European-based stars back to the field together for the first time in almost a year.

 

Due to the current conditions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the match will be conducted under the UEFA Return to Play Protocol and be played without fans in the stadium. 

 

USA DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS):

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 4/0), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 18/0)

 

DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 39/3), Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 11/0), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 4/0), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht/BEL; 19/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 40/1), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 8/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 11/1), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 1/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 15/2), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 20/6), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 1/0), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton/ENG; 1/0)

 

FORWARDS (7): Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; 1/0), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen/FRA; 1/0), Uly Llanez (Heerenveen/NED; 2/1), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 1/0), Sebastian Soto (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 9/1)

 

SIX DEBUTANTS VS. WALES

Six players made their senior team debut for the USMNT on Thursday - five of them teenagers. Three started the match: 17-year-olds Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah plus Konrad de la Fuente. Reyna and Musah became the 12th and 13th players to earn their first caps before turning 18, and their appearances marked just the second time two players under 18 have earned caps for the USMNT in the same match. Off the bench, Johnny Cardoso, Nicholas Gioacchini and Owen Otasowie entered as second-half substitutes. All but Gioacchini are under 20 years old and still age-eligible for the Under-20 MNT. Twenty-six different players have earned their first caps in head coach Gregg Berhalter’s 20 matches at the helm of the USMNT.

“BE THE CHANGE”

The USMNT made an important social justice statement before Thursday’s game, wearing anthem jackets bearing “Be The Change” across their chests with the goal of inspiring action on social justice issues. The spirit of their message is that each and every person has the ability, opportunity and responsibility to make a difference in our own way. On the back of their jackets, each player had the opportunity to include a personalized message representing something meaningful to them.

SCORELESS DRAW IN SWANSEA

While the youthful USMNT held the better of possession and chances against Wales, the Welsh defense held strong in its own third to play to a 0-0 draw. The USA’s young attackers displayed far greater initiative, but were unable to break through a stout, veteran defense. The U.S. defense also showed well as goalkeeper Zack Steffen recorded his seventh solo shutout effort in his 18th appearance for the USA and his third wearing the captain’s armband.

 

USA: 1-Zack Steffen (capt.); 2-Sergiño Dest (20-Reggie Cannon, 87), 3-Matt Miazga, 6-John Brooks, 5-Antonee Robinson; 4-Tyler Adams (16-Johnny Cardoso, 71); 8-Weston McKennie, 17-Sebastian Lletget (14-Owen Otasowie, 87); 7-Gio Reyna (9-Nicholas Gioacchini, 79), 18-Yunus Musah (23-Tim Weah, 79), 11-Konrad de la Fuente (21-Uly Llanez, 71)

Subs not used: 22-Ethan Horvath, 24-Chituru Odunze, 12-Richy Ledezma, 13-Tim Ream, 15-Chris Richards, 19-Sebastian Soto

 

CONCACAF CLASH

Monday will mark the 23rd meeting all-time between the USA and Panama, but just the fourth in a friendly match and first outside of the U.S. or Panama. The USMNT has won three-straight vs. Los Canaleros, most recently topping Panama 1-0 during the group stage of last summer’s Gold Cup in Kansas City, Kan.

 

Panama lost 1-0 to Japan in Austria on Friday in its first friendly of the international window as the team prepares to kick off the first round of Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in March 2021.

STEFFEN MAKES STRIDES

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen earned his seventh solo shut-out with the USMNT on Thursday, and just two years into his National Team tenure, he’s one of the most experienced players on the team’s November roster. While he’s not getting regular playing time at English powerhouse Manchester City, Steffen’s abilities have developed training with some of the world’s best players. This training camp is his first with the USA in 13 months and provides valuable playing time for the 25 year-old net-minder. 

 

ADAMS RETURNS AFTER LONG LAYOFF

While midfielder Tyler Adams is considered a cornerstone of the potential-packed USMNT, he hadn’t represented the USA since March 21, 2019 in a friendly against Ecuador. When he played against Wales on Thursday, it was his first appearance for the MNT in 602 days. Injuries kept Adams out of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup and Nations League, but the 21-year-old is already a veteran for this young squad and is part of the team’s Leadership Council.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE REYNAS

Just 17 years old, Gio Reyna has already broken out as an electric attacking threat for German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund. Red, white, and blue runs in the family for Reyna- his father Claudio is one of the most decorated players in MNT history, representing the USA at the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups and wearing the armband in 2002 and 2006 while earning 112 caps. Gio’s mother, Danielle Reyna, picked up six caps for the U.S. Women’s National Team and won four national championships with North Carolina. While there’s a long history of family connections across the National Team program over the years, with Gio’s debut the Reynas became the first family to have three members play for senior U.S. National Teams. 

THE USYNT PIPELINE

The primary measurement of success for Youth National Teams isn’t in the win/loss columns. The goal of the programs is to provide a pipeline to the senior team, and by that standard this current USMNT roster can only be judged a success. A total of twelve players in the group have represented the USA at a Youth World Cup: Adams, Dest and Weah (U-17 and U-20 World Cup); de la Fuente, Ledezma, Miazga, Richards, Soto and Steffen (U-20 World Cup); Odunze, Pulisic and Reyna (U-17 World Cup). Six players were part of the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup: de la Fuente, Dest, Llanez Richards, Soto and Weah.

 

And on the subject of development, the fruits of a 13-year project born in 2007 can also be seen as 13 players spent time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Adams (New York Red Bulls), Cannon (FC Dallas), Horvath (Real Colorado), Ledezma (Real Salt Lake), Llanez (LA Galaxy), McKennie (FC Dallas), Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Pulisic (PA Classics), Richards (FC Dallas), Soto (San Diego Surf, Real Salt Lake), Steffen (FC Delco, Philadelphia Union), Weah (New York Red Bulls, BW Gottschee).

NEW NIKE THREADS

After debuting its 2020 National Team kit vs. Wales, the USMNT will break out its new dark kit against Panama. Undeniably American and Influenced by streetwear culture, the dark kit displays blue tones with red accents. It’s highlighted throughout the body of the jersey with an abstract take on state borders, a pattern hand-drawn by NIKE’s design team. The new uniforms are also cutting-edge- after extensive research, Nike knitted kits that are faster wicking, more breathable and offer more stretch than previous uniforms.

 

USA ROSTER NOTES

• For the match against Panama on Monday, the roster will have an average age of 22 years, 56 days

• The average number of caps won is nine.

• Four players are uncapped: Richy Ledezma, Chituru Odunze, Chris Richards and Sebastian Soto.

• Only five players have more than 18 caps. Tim Ream is the senior-most player with 40 appearances, followed by John Brooks (39), Weston McKennie (20), Matt Miazga (19) and Zack Steffen (18).

• The 23 players hail from clubs in ten different countries: England (5), Germany (4), Netherlands and Spain (3 each), Belgium and France (2 each), Brazil, Italy, Portugal and the United States (1 each).

• Seventeen players are age-eligible for participation in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo

• The USMNT started two players under the age of 18 for the first time in Thursday’s match against Wales. Gio Reyna earned his debut on his last day as a 17-year-old, alongside fellow first-timer Yunus Musah.

• A total of 13 players are 20 or younger.

 

 

Last Time Out:

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Wales

Date: November 12, 2020

Competition: International Friendly

Venue: Liberty Stadium; Swansea, Wales

Attendance: No attendance

Kickoff: 7:45 p.m. local / 2:45 p.m. ET

Weather: 52 degrees; cloudy

 

Scoring Summary:        1          2          F

USA                              0          0          0

WAL                             0          0          0

 

Lineups:

USA: 1-Zack Steffen (capt.); 2-Sergiño Dest (20-Reggie Cannon, 87), 3-Matt Miazga, 6-John Brooks, 5-Antonee Robinson; 4-Tyler Adams (16-Johnny Cardoso, 71); 8-Weston McKennie, 17-Sebastian Lletget (14-Owen Otasowie, 87); 7-Gio Reyna (9-Nicholas Gioacchini, 79), 18-Yunus Musah (23-Tim Weah, 79), 11-Konrad de la Fuente (21-Uly Llanez, 71)

Subs not used: 22-Ethan Horvath, 24-Chituru Odunze, 12-Richy Ledezma, 13-Tim Ream, 15-Chris Richards, 19-Sebastian Soto

Head coach: Gregg Berhalter

 

WAL: 1-Danny Ward; 14-Connor Roberts, 5-Tom Lockyer, 18-James Lawrence (6-Joe Rodon, 69), 2-Chris Gunter (capt.); 23-Dylan Levitt (16-Joe Morrell, 80), 10-Harry Wilson, 19-Matthew Smith (21- Joshua Sheehan, 45); 11-Rabbi Matondo (22-Brennan Johnson, 62), 13-Kieffer Moore (20-Daniel James, 62), 9-Tom Lawrence

Subs not use: 3-Neco Williams, 4-Ben Davies, 7-David Brooks, 8-Jonny Williams, 12-Tom King, 15-Ethan Ampadu, 17-Rhys Norrington-Davies

Head coach: Robert Page

 

Stats Summary: USA / WAL

Shots: 7 / 4

Shots on Goal: 1 / 2

Saves: 2 / 1

Corner Kicks: 5 / 3

Fouls: 17 / 9

Offside: 3 / 1

 

Misconduct Summary:

USA – Matt Miazga (caution)                 56th minute

USA – Johnny Cardoso (caution)             80

USA – Sergiño Dest (caution)                 81

 

Officials:

Referee: Nick Walsh (SCO)

Assistant Referee 1: Dougie Potter (SCO)

Assistant Referee 2: Sean Carr (SCO)

4th Official: Bryn Markham (WAL)

 

PANAMA DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS):

GOALKEEPERS (3): Marcos Allen (Atletico Sanluqueño/ESP; 0/0), Luis Mejia (Nacional/URU; 25/0), Orlando Mosquera (Boluspor/TUR; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Andres Andrade (LASK/AUT; 1/0), Cesar Blackman (Dunajska Streda/SVK; 3/0), Harold Cummings (Union Española/CHI; 67/1), Eric Davis (Dunajska Streda/SVK; 51/1), Fidel Escobar (Alcorcon/ESP; 42/1), Oscar Linton (Sliema Wanderers/MLT; 2/0), Michael Murillo (Anderlecht/BEL; 37/2)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Abdiel Ayarza (Cienciano/PER; 4/2), Edgar Barcenas (Girona/ESP; 42/1), Omar Browne (CAI La Chorrera; 8/0), Adalberto Carrasquilla (Cartagena/ESP; 8/1), Armando Cooper (Hapoel Tel Aviv/ISR; 112/8), Anibal Godoy (Nashville SC/USA; 100/1), Victor Griffith (Santos de Guapiles/CRC; 2/0), Irving Gudiño (Marbella/ESP; 2/0), Jose Luis Rodriguez (Lugo/ESP; 18/0), Juan Tejada (Tampa Bay Rowdies/USA; 0/0)

FORWARDS (4): Jorman Aguilar (San Carlos/CRC; 4/0), Jose Fajarado (CAI La Chorrera; 11/0), Eduardo Guerrero (Maccabi Tel Aviv/ISR; 1/0), Gabriel Torres (Independiente del Valle/ECU; 86/18)

 

 

IN FOCUS: PANAMA

• Monday marks the 23rd meeting all-time between the USA and Panama. It’s just their fourth friendly match and first time playing outside of the U.S. or Panama.

• The USMNT has won its last three matches against Panama, outscoring Los Canaleros by a combined 8-0 in that run. Most recently, the USA topped Panama 1-0 during the group stage of the 2019 Gold Cup in Kansas City, Kan.

• Panama fell 1-0 to Japan in its opening match of the window on Friday, Nov. 13 in Graz, Austria. Japan’s Takumi Minamino scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot in the 61^st minute.

• Panama finished the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Luis Mejía was sent off for a foul on Takumo Asano in the 78^th minute.

• Thomas Christiansen took charge of Panama in July after previous coaching stints in Belgium, Cyprus, and England with Leeds United. The Spanish international enjoyed a long playing career across Europe, leading the Bundesliga in goals for the 2002-03 season with VfL Bochum. 

• As the ninth-ranked team in Concacaf, Panama will compete in the first round of World Cup qualifying in March 2021. Los Canaleros were drawn into Group D alongside Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica and the Dominican Republic. The winner of each of the six groups advance to the second round, where three teams will join the top five-ranked Concacaf nations (including the USA) in the eight-team final round of qualifying.

• Panama fell 1-0 to Japan on Friday, its first loss of the year. The Central American nation also played matches during the October international window, topping Costa Rica 1-0 twice in San Jose, Costa Rica.

• Panama’s roster carries an average of 26 caps, just three players are uncapped.

• Armando Cooper is the roster’s most-experienced player with 112 caps. Forward Gabriel Torres’ 18 goals are the most on the squad.

• Defender Michael Murillo lines up next to USMNT defender at Belgium’s Anderlecht. Murillo has started at right back in all four of Miazga’s appearances at the club this year.

• Two Panamanian players compete in the USA- midfielder Anibal Godoy at Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC and midfielder Juan Tejada at the United Soccer League Championship’s Tampa Bay Rowdies.

• Panama’s 24 players ply their trade in 14 countries across Europe, North America and South America. Full club/country distribution: Spain (six), Costa Rica, Israel, Panama, Slovakia, USA (two each), Austria, Belgium, Chile, Ecuador, Malta, Peru, Turkey and Uruguay (one each).

 

 

Last Time Out:

Match: Japan vs. Wales

Date: November 13, 2020

Competition: International Friendly

Venue: Merkur Arena; Graz, Austria

Attendance: No attendance

 

Scoring Summary:       

JPN – Takumi Minamino (penalty kick)               61^st minute

                                    1          2          F

JPN                               0          1          1

PAN                              0          0          0

 

Lineups:

JPN:12-Shuichi Gonda; 2-Naomichi Ueda, 22-Maya Yoshida, 5-Yuto Nagatomo (8-Genki Haraguchi, 58), 3-Sei Muroya (19-Hiroki Sakai, 82), 20-Ko Itakura, 7-Gaku Shibasaki (4-Yuta Nakayama, 82), 13-Kento Hashimoto (6-Wataru Endo, 46), 25-Koji Miyoshi, 17-Takefusa Kubo (9-Daichi Kamada, 71), 10-Takumi Minamino (18-Takuma Asano, 72)
Head Coach: Hajime Moriyaso

PAN: 1-Luis Mejía; 3-Harold Cummings, 13-Óscar Linton, 23-Michael Murillo, 19-Cesar Yanis (16-Jomar Aguilar, 71), 8-Adalberto Carrasquilla, 14-Andres Andrade, 6-Victor Griffith (11-Armando Cooper, 61), 5-Abdiel Ayarza (12-Orlando Mosquera, 81), 9-Gabriel Torres (17-Jose Fajardo, 81), 10-Edgar Bárcenas (21-Omar Browne, 71)
Head Coach: Thomas Christiansen

Misconduct Summary:

PAN – Óscar Linton (caution)                 27^th minute
PAN – Edgar Bárcena (caution)              66

JPN – Sei Muroya (caution)                    75

PAN – Luis Mejía (ejection)                    78
PAN – Maya Yoshida (caution)               90+6

 

Officials:

Referee: Petru Ciochirca (AUT)

Assistant Referee 1: Maximillian Kolbitsch (AUT)

Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT)

4th Official: Alexander Harkam (AUT)