Atlanta Sports category interest

ATLANTA — The United States Men’s National Team lost 2-1 in its second Copa América group stage match to Panama in chaotic fashion down in Atlanta on Thursday night.

Following a 2-0 win over Bolivia in its first Copa América fixture, the USMNT was looking to secure a win for a likely spot in the tournament’s quarterfinal round. Panama had different plans, however, as it took advantage of Tim Weah’s early red card exit and secured a scrappy win over the Americans.

A series of early calls spelled trouble for the Americans with a fifth minute set piece goal from Weston McKennie being overturned, followed by the red card from Tim Weah’s jostle with the Panamanian defender Roderick Miller that left his team with 10 men for the remaining 75 minutes.

“Tim got bumped, he got checked, and he reacted,” said USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter. “He apologized to the group and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in, nonetheless it happened, and as a result we lost this game.”

USA quickly responded to referee Ivan Barton’s call with a 22nd minute goal from Folarin Balogun, who finessed the ball off the right post and into the net to bring the American crowd to a roar.

The American lead was short-lived however, as Panama’s César Blackman scored an equalizer only four minutes later.

The Yanks would remain on their heels for the remainder of the game and would eventually sit back in a 5-3-1 formation after halftime, allowing Panama to control over 70% possession for the entire game.

Offensive production was lacking in the second half for both teams until the 83rd minute where Panama’s José Fajardo volleyed in a low cross for what would be the game-winning goal.

USA had multiple opportunities in the final minutes to score an equalizer following several chippy fouls and cards, including Adalberto Carrasquilla’s leg sweep on Christian Pulisic that earned him a red card to make the game a 10-on-10.

The Americans couldn’t make an equalizer out of the late-game dramatics and left Atlanta with their heads down as the final whistle blew. With Thursday’s loss, they will now need to rally back on Monday against one of the tournament favorites, Uruguay, to avoid elimination.

“We have to beat Uruguay,” said American defender Chris Richards. “I think if we want to go far in this tournament then we have to beat teams like Uruguay anyway.”