The U.S. Men’s National Team went on the road to the hostile confines of Estadio Rommel Fernandez and earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against host Panama thanks to Clint Dempsey’s MNT-best 18th career World Cup Qualifying goal.
Now sitting fourth in the Hex standings, the away point gives the U.S. four total after four of 10 Hexagonal matchdays and sees the team securely in the race for CONCACAF’s three automatic berths to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
An evenly played first half saw the U.S. strike first when Christian Pulisic put in the hard work to run down a Jermaine Jones long ball, strip one Panama centerback before evading the other to set up Dempsey for his 56th career goal and fourth in two games, having secured a hat trick against Honduras four days earlier thanks to a pair of Pulisic assists and one spectacular free kick. The goal puts Dempsey one short of Landon Donovan for the all-time MNT goal scoring record.
Panama retaliated with a scrappy goal from Gabriel Gomez just minutes before the half-time whistle and while both sides hunted for a winner in the second half, strong defensive plays from Tim Howard, Tim Ream and Omar Gonzalez helped the U.S. see the game out and earn an important point on the road.
Next on the Schedule: The U.S. MNT will continue its quest to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer when the USA will host Trinidad & Tobago on June 8 and head to Mexico on June 11. Match venues, kickoff times and television information will available in the coming weeks.
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| 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - CONCACAF Final Round Standings | ||||||||
| TEAM | GP | W | L | D | Pts. | GF | GA | GD |
Mexico | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
Costa Rica | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
Panama | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| United States | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
Honduras | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -5 |
Trinidad & Tobago | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
