2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying – Final Round - Match No. 5
Oct. 10, 2021
Estadio Rommel Fernández; Panama City, Panama
Pre-Game Coverage: 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+; 5:30 p.m. ET on UNIVERSO
Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET on Paramount+, UNIVERSO
Social Media: @USMNT on Twitter and Instagram; U.S. Soccer on Facebook , The U.S. Soccer App
Tonight’s USMNT Starting XI at Panama: 1-Matt Turner, 3-Walker Zimmerman (capt.), 5-Shaq Moore, 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Paul Arriola, 9-Gyasi Zardes, 17-Sebastian Lletget, 18-Mark McKenzie, 20-Tim Weah, 21-George Bello, 23-Kellyn Acosta
Substitutes: 13-Sean Johnson, 2-Sergiño Dest, 4-Tyler Adams, 8-Gianluca Busio, 10-Cristian Roldan, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Miles Robinson, 14-Luca de la Torre, 15-Chris Richards, 16-Ricardo Pepi, 19-Matthew Hoppe, 22-DeAndre Yedlin
USMNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Gyasi Zardes (64), Kellyn Acosta (42), Paul Arriola (41), Sebastian Lletget (33), Walker Zimmerman (19), Tim Weah (15), Shaq Moore (13), Matt Turner (12), Mark McKenzie (8), Yunus Musah (8), George Bello (5)
USMNT Starting XI WCQ Cap Numbers (including this match): Kellyn Acosta (11), Paul Arriola (9), Gyasi Zardes (6), Sebastian Lletget (5), Matt Turner (5), George Bello (2), Mark McKenzie (2), Shaq Moore (2), Yunus Musah (2), Tim Weah (2), Walker Zimmerman (2)
The lineup averages 23 caps and 12 in official competition. The 11 players have an average age of 25 years, 20 days.
Gregg Berhalter makes seven changes to the lineup that faced Jamaica on Thursday, with goalkeeper Matt Turner, defender Walker Zimmerman, midfielder Yunus Musah and winger Paul Arriola as the four holdovers.
Five players are age 24 and younger: Shaq Moore (24), Mark McKenzie (22), Tim Weah (21), George Bello (19), Yunus Musah (18)
Midfielder Kellyn Acosta extends his consecutive games streak to 19 matches, dating back to the 6-0 win against El Salvador on Dec. 9, 2020. Acosta’s run of games is the most by a USMNT player since Landon Donovan played 35-straight matches from 2001-2003.
Matt Turner makes his 11th consecutive USMNT appearance, the most by a USMNT goalkeeper since Brad Guzan played 12 consecutive matches from June 5-October 10, 2015. The record for consecutive matches by a USMNT goalkeeper is held by Tony Meola, who played 15-straight games from Dec. 19, 1990-Sept. 4, 1991.
Turner has a 9-0-2 record in 11 previous appearances, keeping clean sheets in eight matches while conceding only three goals.
Walker Zimmerman will captain the USMNT for the third time tonight. The center back twice wore the armband during this summer’s Gold Cup -- the 6-1 win against Martinique on July 15 and 1-0 victory against Canada on July 18.
After making their World Cup Qualifying debuts on Thursday against Jamaica, defender Shaq Moore and forward Tim Weah earn their first qualifying starts tonight.
Both Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola came off the bench in the USMNT’s last visit to Panama, a 1-1 draw on March 28, 2017. Defender Walker Zimmerman was an unused substitute in the match.
With Yunus Musah (18) and George Bello (19) in the lineup, two teenagers will start for the USMNT for a third-straight match. Bello and Ricardo Pepi (18) began the game on Sept. 8 in Honduras, while Musah and Pepi started on Thursday against Jamaica.
Making his 16th appearance of 2021, veteran midfielder Sebastian Lletget comes into the match tied with Brenden Aaronson for the team’s scoring lead with four goals on the year
Veteran forward Gyasi Zardes starts his first World Cup Qualifier since assisting on the opening goal in the 4-0 win against Guatemala on March 29, 2016, in Columbus.
Two starters have previously scored against Panama. Walker Zimmerman nodded home the second goal in the USMNT’s 3-0 friendly win on Jan. 27, 2019, and Sebastian Lletget added the fifth goal in the team’s 6-2 friendly win on Nov. 16, 2020.
Four substitutes have the chance to make their qualifying debuts tonight: Gianluca Busio, Matthew Hoppe, Sean Johnson and Chris Richards.
Substitutes Tyler Adams and DeAndre Yedlin carry yellow cards into tonight’s match against Panama. Should either pick on another caution tonight, they will be suspended for Wednesday’s match against Costa Rica.
Teams may dress up to 23 players and are allowed a total of five substitutions in three different moments throughout the match.
Cesar Ramos of Mexico is the referee for tonight’s match. He has previously officiated six USMNT matches, with the last being the team’s 1-0 win against Jamaica on July 25, 2021, in the Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinal.
The USMNT is 16-1-6 all-time against Panama and 6-0-2 in World Cup Qualifiers. The team is also 2-0-2 in qualifying matches played in Panama City.
Tonight’s match marks Gregg Berhalter’s 40th game leading the USMNT. The team is 28-6-5 since Berhalter began in January 2019. The team is on a 13-match unbeaten run, going 11-0-2 in that span. It’s the third longest undefeated streak in USMNT history.