Have to say I saw a few gestures of great sportsmanship from the Yanks last night. 1) Took the game seriously enough - you're welcome Mexico 2) Didn't really celebrate their goals - Orozco did a dance with Beasley but that seemed to be a thing between club teammates 3) Consoled Panamanian players after the final whistle - Aron Johansson in particular offered a warm pat on the back to a particularly desolate Panama defender. Good stuff overall from the team. Good effort. Concerning at the back, but that's the case when you're working with injuries.
It makes up for whoever was in charge of the us soccer twitter feed. The "you're welcome mexico" once was a funny troll. They went overboard. It would be funny if it was a US player going overboard, but this was probably some kid too excited.
They don't need any of us rubbing it in. Especially the way the commentators from Televisa Deportes were taking them to task.
The class shown by Aron was incredible. He did his job in putting away a win for the USMNT, but instead of jumping up and down and celebrating his first goal, he graciously walked back to mid field. He knew what it meant to Panama, and had no need to rub it in. Class act. Wish more athletes were like this. http://www.ussoccer.com/media-libra...ma--aron-johannsson-goal---oct--15--2013.aspx
There is a large part of me felt the pain of Panama. The emotional rollercoaster of that whole match is something I can't even began to fathom. Panama faced cruel and unusual punishment at the hands of the US. With that said, the US displayed a wide array of sportsmanship throughout the match that shouldn't go unnoticed and should be commended. The US was stuck between a rock and a hard place but ultimately did the right thing. I was proud of the way the US consoled the shattered Panamanians. I was thankful they showed the respect and class that was warranted. I am glad to know we have players who can understand that sometimes it's not all about you.
I didn't like the US players going over to try and console the Panama players. They knew what they just did, they just should have congratulated each other on the win and thats it. If one of the Panamanian players came over and wanted to shake hands, thats one thing. But the US had to have known what they just did to a country and that those guys wanted nothing to do with them once the whistle blew.
We're playing pure class now. I'll say it. The USA is ELITE. One of the best on the planet. This is what classy, World Cup winning sides should look like. GO USA.
Quite the contrary, actually. If Panama wanted nothing to do with the US players they very easily could have shoed them off but numerous US players and Panamanians shared embraces. These guys are professional. They know the US played with 100% effort and heart just like they did. Panama didn't seize their opportunities and I think they are professional enough to understand and recognize that. I'm sure if you asked the Panamanian players they would have not wanted the US players to "tank" it. They welcomed the challenge. It was a cruel ending for Panama. Judging the scenes immediately following the match , they were receptive towards the US players and staff consoling them. They displayed as much class and respect as the US following the match. I for one, loved what the US did and I don't think they should be knocked for their actions. Respect and humility go a long way.
According to Kyle Beckerman, the Panamanians were wondering why we were still going strong and not taking it easy. His response was that the they were playing for their spot on the team, so, um, it was all about them last night. Panama seized their opportunities. They scored two goals playing us straight up. Their fault was forgetting one of the basic rules of the game, something our "I need to prove why I should wear this jersey" players did not: always, always, ALWAYS play until the final whistle. Classy post-match conduct by our players. No reason to knock them for wanting to console the Panamanian players. I'll say it: puff, puff, pass that b1tch. Stop campin' out, Ranger Rick!
One of my friends thought he saw a Panama player ask, "What the f***?" to one of our players after the tying goal.
It was the 19 year old defender that got subbed on in the second half. It sure looked like the exchange went something like that, but I'm not going to assume that that's what happened. For anyone that wants to see it, the highlight package put together by US Soccer has it on film:
Well to be fair, USA is the top team in the group and should be expected to beat Panama. Going into this game, Panama had a very minimal chance of advancing to begin with. It would be worse if Panama was in a prime position to advance and then completely implode and not advance. If they really wanted to advance, they should have beaten their main competition in the group (Mexico). They didn't, and even then they get blessed with a possible 2nd chance (with our B squad and Mexico losing to CR), and screw it up again. Just like Mexico, Panama got so many 2nd chances and didn't take advantage of it. Yes, it sucks that you are missing the world cup, but they are frankly not good enough. Panama would easily be the weakest or one of the weakest teams in the WC. Mexico is in the same boat as Panama. I don't feel bad for them because it is 100% their fault. CONCACAF has an extremely forgiving qualifying format and they still wasted every 2nd chance given to them. Despite all of this, Mexico still deserves to advance over Panama because Mexico's performance was just slightly less terrible.
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=331841/index.html http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelim...tches/round=258372/match=300221980/index.html The other sub, #22, certainly went studs in twice just prior to the goal: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=337243/index.html The Panama back 4 all seemed to be ball watching, as the cross came in.
Would you classify the celebration of the last second goal against CR (knocking them out) at the end of the last Hex as lacking class?
You should at least post a link. At home, down a man, comeback to tie, worthy of a celebration. Perhaps the fireworks were a bit over the top ... I can tell you that the fans in the stands certainly rejoiced. I personally was happy for the Hondurans, who were put in by our tie, after they were beaten at home by our MNT in the penultimate match. I had watched that game with a large number of Hondurans in NYC, and their fans were pure class, even in defeat. After the match, I told them that, if they beat El Salvador, they would qualify, as we would help them against Costa Rica. Also, the result didn't actually eliminate the Ticos, although it did send them to their deaths against Uruguay.
The fireworks were to celebrate the qualification to the WC that happened 4 days earlier in Honduras. The match was held just one day after Charlie Davies tragic accident. Also, it was the match that Gooch went out with his knee injury that effectively killed his future with the USMNT. Needless to say, it was an emotion filled match.
This is going to sound cheesy but I think this experience can make Panama a better team in the long run. They can learn a thing or two and perhaps close out some games for a change. They lost their heads and awareness after going up 2-1.
I know. I sometimes use ... to indicate that I'm not being serious. Those were serious. I'm sure that somewhere I still have my #9 card, which we held aloft at the 9th minute. In effect, 2 MNT careers were severely affected by this match.
Only problem is that these opportunities, are few and far between for teams like Panama. Mexico won't suck next cycle. They will have to hope Honduras or Costa Rica drop their level of play and then fend off Jamaica, El Salvador from becoming the 4th best team....and oh yeah it probably won't be NZ in the playoff next time.
One important distinction was that Bornstein goal sent Costa Rica to the wildcard, not eliminated from qualifying. Second, it was at home - so it's not celebrating/taunting in front of the losing team's fans. Third, it's Costa Rica. ******** em, they'e been to the WC several times.
As everything played out, if Mexico's miracle bike hadn't gone in, and everything else on MD 10 had happened the exact same way, Panama would be in 4th and Mexico 5th. Mexico needed TWO miracles.
Interesting cultural differences I noticed yesterday. Both central americans I spoke to thought I'd be angry with the USMNT. One thought the USMNT was stupid for not letting Mexico die. The other thought we were bad sports to keep playing hard against Panama. "why? for what reason?" up is down, black is white.