USA vs. Panama: Strong Defense Proves to Be Americans' Biggest Asset in Gold Cup

The United States' offense may have gotten the team to the 2013 Gold Cup Final against Panama, but it was the country’s defense that helped it win the crown.

The Americans defeated Panama on Sunday, per the team’s official Twitter account:

All throughout Group C play we heard about the Team USA scoring attack—and for good reason. The Americans scored six goals against Belize, four against Cuba and one against Costa Rica. With 11 goals in just three matches, the United States was a force to be reckoned with entering the knockout stage.

The United States carried its momentum into the second round of the international tournament, as it put five shots into the net against El Salvador and scored an additional three against Honduras. The Americans entered the championship match with eight more goals than any other country.

But the offense struggled to get much going against Panama on Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago. If Martin Vasquez, who called the shots for the Americans since Jurgen Klinsmann was suspended for the final, didn’t put Brek Shea into the match in the 68th minute, the United States might not have scored.

Shea raced on to the field and made an instant impact. He ran toward the net and found himself with the ball and in front of an open net. He easily scored to notch the United States’ first goal just a minute after entering the game for Joe Corona. That would be the team’s lone goal of the match.

While the goal was just enough to hold off Panama, what was underrated throughout the entire tournament was Team USA’s defense. The defense only allowed two goals through group play and just two more in the knockout stage. Allowing just four goals in six matches is absolutely remarkable.

The defense’s play in the final is what should really stand out when looking back on the United States’ fifth Gold Cup victory—sorry, Brek. The Americans only allowed Panama to take six shots throughout the entire match, and Nick Rimando barely had to do anything, as none of them were on goal.

In fact, the Americans rarely even let the Panamanians have the ball for most of the match. Each time Panama had the ball in its possession, the defense took it away. The United States had the ball for 69 percent of the match, so it was tough for Panama to score with having many opportunities.

Panama had a strong scoring attack entering the final match too, so it wasn’t like the Americans were taking advantage of a team that didn’t match up somewhat equally to them. Panama was able to defeat Mexico, the two-time reigning champion entering this year’s tournament, twice.

Panama also scored the second-most goals of any team at the Gold Cup, finishing nine behind the United States. The Americans shut Panama down offensively in the final and they made it look easy. It wasn’t the offense that won the title for the United States. It was the defense.

All statistics in this article were obtained via CONCACAF.com unless otherwise noted.