PANAMA CITY, Panama -- A team can repeat its mistakes so many times before it gets punished. So it proved for the United States men's national team in its 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Panama.
In its first four games, the U.S. had managed to avoid defeat. But even as it accumulated eight points from those matches, there were some warning signs. Slow starts were one. A lack of execution at times in midfield was another. And there was a perceived lack of intensity that more than one player mentioned. It's a lesson that after five qualifiers -- three of which were on the road -- the U.