USMNT Lose to Panama 1-0 in 2022 World Cup Qualifier After Anibal Godoy Goal

United States men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter decided to shuffle the lineup for Sunday's road matchup against Panama in World Cup qualifying. It turned out to be costly. 

The USMNT dropped crucial points against their underdog opponents, losing 1-0. Anibal Godoy's glancing header off a corner kick was the game's lone goal. 

In what has become a recurring theme for the United States in qualifying, the first half was a slog. It was Panama had the better chances and, were it not for the heroics of Matt Turner, easily could have been up a goal or two.

But unlike past performances, the USMNT's second-half heroics never came. 

Perhaps some shakiness was to be expected from a lineup that was comprehensively reworked after Thursday's 2-0 win against Jamaica. But the USMNT has enough depth to be far brighter than they showed in the first half, or in the full 90 minutes, period. 

Suffice to say, the performance was met with frustration:

If nothing else, it highlighted how important players like Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi—not to mention Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna, each unavailable over this international break—are to the USMNT's attack. 

Still, it remains a huge concern that the United States has shown both a propensity to start games at a snail's pace and have dropped points from winnable matchups in the final round of qualifying. Some of Berhalter's lineup decisions, in hindsight, have been perplexing. 

Yes, it is smart to rotate players with three games in a week in what is a grueling octagonal. The issue is how Berhalter chose to rotate the lineup in this game, moves that will be examined closely (and likely harshly). 

With this loss, the United States has eight points through five games and fell to second place in the qualifying standing. Mexico took a three-point lead on the Americans after beating Honduras. Panama, meanwhile, also has eight points and only trails the United States on goal differential. Canada lurks in fourth place with seven points. 

So what was already an important matchup with Costa Rica on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET) has become absolutely crucial. Dropping points is no longer an option for the United States. Once again, the USMNT's margin for error has shrunk.