Sporting KC Homegrown defender Erik Palmer-Brown and the U.S. Under-20 National Team opened the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship with a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Panama at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Costa Rica on Saturday afternoon.
Palmer-Brown played the full 90 minutes as team captain for the U.S., spending the first 69 minutes as a holding midfielder before sliding into his more familiar role at center back. The 19-year-old produced a steady performance, completing 25 of 31 passes (81 percent) and making one steal in the game.
After a cagey opening, the complexion of the game changed in the 18th minute when Panama’s Justin Simons was shown a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams – who came out of the game 13 minutes later having been unable to shake off the effects of the challenge.