CHESTER, Pa. – Music and shouts of celebration from the Panama locker room next door provided the soundtrack as U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann tried to put another positive spin on another loss.
Backup goalkeeper Luis Mejia saved two penalty kicks late in the shootout, and Panama beat the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place match Saturday. Panama won the shootout 3-2 after extra time ended with the score 1-1.
As the 2013 Gold Cup champion, the U.S. team can still reach the 2017 Confederations Cup if it beats the winner of Sunday’s Mexico-Jamaica final in a playoff Oct.