A DARK NIGHT FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM By Campo Elias Estrada La Prensa The respect that Panama had been gaining during these qualifiers was all thrown into the garbage during a 45-minute lapse in RFK stadium, Washington, D.C., with a thumping that fortunately only reached 6-0. With this result, the United States qualified early for the next phase while Panama now has no option but to beat El Salvador, November 17, and light a candle for St. Anthony in hopes that the U.S. defeats Jamaica, thus, qualifiying Panama for the final hexagonal. Panama had taken three steps forward in its last few matches but, with yesterday's performance, they retreated by ten steps. It was a frightening match with a team that lacked feet and heads, and a coach who took a risk with his lineup in the second half, which opened up spaces for the Americans to do anything they fancied which, in effect, they did. The first half didn't cost the Panamanians too much - They only allowed one goal by Landon Donovan at 20' as a result of the usual blunders in the back. The United States, employing a first-class game, practical and with quick strikes, shredded our last line which did not have the support of the midfield but was able to thwart three clear goal-scoring chances by Brian McBride, Kerry Zavagnin and Carlos Bocanegra. The effort put forth by the selection did not help it in this match. In the first half, the team was virtually invisible. In fact, the Panamanian fans at the game were the only thing that added life to our side. Victor Miranda entered the match in the first half for Luis Henriquez. It was thought that the team would improve its showing in the second half, but it was just the opposite. It was 45 minutes of nightmare. Donaldo Gonzalez saved the second possible goal for the U.S. when he won a 1v1 battle versus Josh Wolff at 5’ of the second half. The coach, “Cheche” Hernandez began to play a leading role in the match. He changed the formation and inserted forward Alberto Zapata for defender Luis Moreno. Panama ended playing with a back line of three: Victor Miranda, Carlos Rivera and Anthony Torres. At 64’, Julio Dely headed a cross by “Puchito” Medina and the ball smashed against the crossbar. Two minutes later a dangerous free kick by Alberto Blanco forced Kasey Keller to deflect the ball over the crossbar. Those were the two most dangerous chances created by the national team. The new formation employed in the second half by “Cheche” opened many spaces for U.S. counterattacks anytime they stole the ball both in the center and flanks of the pitch. It was a very disorderly and chaotic period of the match for Panama. Finally, the U.S. goals came by the young Eddie Johnson (69’, 83’, and 86’), the first as a result of an error by keeper Donaldo Gonzalez who, again, demonstrated his deficiencies with aerial crosses, and one last goal by Oguchi Onyewu (89’). Link: http://www.prensa.com/hoy/deportes/47841.html The sports headline in “El Siglo” (http://www.elsiglo.com), regarding this match is: “WHAT A JOKE!” It goes on to say: “We were simply routed by the ‘gringos’ which, by some good fortune, the margin of victory wasn’t even wider.” It also explained that one of the keys to the game was that the Americans “suffocated” the Panamanian midfielders who, as a result, could not connect with their forwards.