The United States men's national team completed its disappointing campaign at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup in appropriate style on Saturday, laboring to a 1-1 draw with Panama before losing to the Canaleros 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
The result will be disappointing to fans, and it will give new ammunition to U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann's critics, as he had a few decisions go wrong at the tournament. But the reality is that the tournament effectively ended for the Americans after the 2-1 loss to Jamaica in the semifinals, and Saturday's consolation match was little more than an exercise in playing out the string.