ORLANDO, Fla. — The American men were energized, the Orlando crowd was buzzing and any doubt about the result was erased within the first half hour. Christian Pulisic scored the opener and the U.S. was off and running, leading Panama by multiple goals at intermission before coasting to an easy and emphatic win in its penultimate World Cup qualifier.
Only an unthinkable, unprecedented result in the road finale would prevent the Americans from punching their ticket to the World Cup. The job appeared done.
As it was in 2017, so it is again, eerily, in 2022.