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The United States' bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Panama spent the bulk of the match defending but pounced on a giveaway by the Americans before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time.
Up next for Panama in Sunday's final will be the winner of Thursday's other semi-final between Mexico and Canada.
For the U.S., their latest loss to Panama is a massive blow as their only chance to collect silverware before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada now rests with the June 14-July 6 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The U.S. came into the game hoping to avenge a loss to Panama at last year's Copa America where the hosts failed to reach the knockout stage, a humiliating result that led to the firing of head coach Gregg Berhalter.
After a somewhat tentative start on Thursday the U.S. enjoyed a brief stretch where they threatened Panama, nearly scoring twice while another chance was squandered by an offside call just past the midway mark of a scoreless first half.
Josh Sargent nearly opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he got free in front of the Panama goal from where his shot hit a defender and then the post before being cleared.
Moments later Weston McKennie delivered a strong header from the back post after a brilliant cross from Timothy Weah but Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera was in perfect position to make the save.
Sargent then found the back of the Panama net but Weah was clearly offside in the buildup and the linesman's flag went up immediately after the ball crossed the goal line.
The U.S. had several chances in the latter portion of the game as the toll of defending all night seemed to sap the Panama players' strength and left them unable to generate much in the way of an attack until the late turnover.
The U.S. remain the only team to win the CONCACAF Nations League - which launched in 2019 and is modeled after its UEFA counterpart - having triumphed in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Canada enter their semi-final unbeaten in three straight games against Mexico, the most recent being a 0-0 draw in a friendly held last September in Texas.
The two sides last played a competitive match in November 2021 when Canada secured a 2-1 victory in a World Cup qualifier played in Edmonton amid frigid temperatures and with snow piled up on the side of the pitch.
Last-gasp Vinicius Jr strike gives Brazil 2-1 win over Colombia
A last-gasp Vinicius Jr strike earned Brazil a hard-fought 2-1 win over Colombia in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.
Vinicius scored the winner nine minutes into added time to rescue a much-needed win for Brazil who appeared destined for a third consecutive 1-1 draw after a Luis Diaz canceled out Raphinha's early opener for the hosts in capital Brasilia.
The victory lifted Brazil to second in South American qualifying with 21 points, four behind leaders Argentina and one ahead of Uruguay in third, both of whom have a game in hand and will clash on Friday.
The top six qualify directly for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the seventh place offering passage via further rounds of qualifiers.
The five-time World Cup champions started strong and grabbed the lead within six minutes through a Raphinha penalty after Vinicius Jr was fouled inside the box by Daniel Munoz.
But Brazil hit a wall after that and other than an angled strike from Rodrygo that sailed wide of the post in the 13th minute, they couldn't create any real scoring opportunities.
They were also exposed to regular counterattacks with Colombia constantly threatening goalkeeper Alisson's box.
In the 40th minute, James Rodriguez pounced on a lapse in concentration from Newcastle midfielder Joelinton, taking possession on the edge of the box and finding Diaz who fired into the bottom right corner to equalise.
Brazil came back livelier after the break and Vinicius Jr forced a fine save from Camilo Vargas with an early strike for inside the box.
But the pressure to find a goal appeared to take the wind out of their sails and as they wasted one chance after another, manager Dorival Jr, who took the job a year ago, grew increasingly forlorn on the sidelines.
His despair turned to joy in the dying moments when Vinicius unleashed a curling strike from the edge of the box that evaded Vargas' and found the back of the net.
Brazil will now travel to face old rivals Argentina on Tuesday in a game where they will be without Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes and Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, both suspended after receiving yellow cards against Colombia.
