U.S. Men to face Panama in Gold Cup quarterfinals Saturday

U.S. Men’s National Team Game Notes
USA vs. Panama
2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup

KNOCKOUT ROUND BEGINS: After going undefeated in Group B action, the U.S. Men\'s National Team faces Panama for a place in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals. The MNT continues its quest for three consecutive Gold Cup titles at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, July 18 at 8 p.m. ET live on Fox Soccer Channel, TeleFutura and the Futbol de Primera Radio Network. The U.S. has not played an international match in the City of Brotherly Love since the 1960s, and the Gold Cup visits the city for the first time on Saturday. Panama, however, presents a familiar opponent for Bob Bradley\'s team, and the two sides have met in the elimination rounds of the past two Gold Cups. The U.S. was victorious in a shootout in the Championship Game in 2005 and the MNT dispatched Panama 2-1 in the quarterfinals of their title run two years ago.

U.S. ROSTER AGAINST PANAMA: U.S. head coach Bob Bradley will have 18 of his 30-player roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup available for selection for the game against Panama on Saturday night. Steve Cherundolo and Michael Parkhurst departed the team immediately after the game in Foxborough, while forward Charlie Davies left earlier this week to join up with his new club, Sochaux in France. All the players on the U.S. roster have played in the Gold Cup, with goalkeeper Luis Robles, defender Jay Heaps and midfielders Colin Clark and Sam Cronin earning their first caps against Haiti. Forward Davy Arnaud scored his first goal for the U.S. against Haiti in what was also his first start for the national team.

U.S. Men’s National Team Roster – July 12-18 in Philadelphia
GOALKEEPERS (2): Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)
DEFENDERS (5): Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (Out of Contract)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (3): Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Santino Quaranta (D.C. United)

GROUP B RECAPPED: The U.S. won their 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup opening match in 10 tries with the 4-0 win against Grenada at Seattle’s Qwest Field on July 4. Freddy Adu, Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies all scored for the U.S., while Rogers earned ussoccer.com Man of the Match honors assisting on the Adu and Holden goals in the first half, before scoring in the 60th minute. In the second game, the U.S. was deadlocked with Honduras at RFK Stadium for 74 minutes, but Santino Quaranta – returning after more than three years without an appearance – struck from 18-yards out after Benny Feilhaber choreographed a crisp passing sequence that resulted in the goal. Five minutes later, Bring Ching scored in his first appearance since April 1 as the U.S. took control of the game and the group with a 2-0 win. In goal, Troy Perkins earned the shutout in both affairs, coming up with a few key saves along the way. Against Haiti, an early Davy Arnaud goal gave the U.S. a lead into halftime but two quick-fire Haiti strikes put the inexperienced American team in a hole going into the later stages of the match. Stuart Holden salvaged a tie with his memorable late strike and the late heroics ensured Bob Bradley\'s team finished atop Group B with seven points.

GROUP PLAY FINISHED: Last weekend saw the conclusion of 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup group play, with Canada, USA and Mexico each grabbing seven points to win their respective groups. Canada set the pace in Group A with wins against El Salvador and Jamaica, before a draw with Costa Rica guaranteed Stephen Hart\'s team top spot. Costa Rica finished on four points to earn a berth into the quarterfinals. In Group B, the USA finished first, while Honduras\' drubbing of Grenada in the last group game meant they vaulted over Haiti and into second place. Mexico topped Group C, but not without some nervy moments. Guadeloupe\'s two wins in their first two group games was good enough for second place, while Panama\'s heated draw with El Tri was enough to give them third place and a date with the USA in Philadelphia.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Seven different players have scored the eight U.S. goals through three games at the Gold Cup. Until Stuart Holden became the first repeat scorer, the first seven marked first time that seven straight goals in a Gold Cup have come from seven different players. Freddy Adu, Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers, Charlie Davies, Santino Quaranta, Brian Ching and Davy Arnaud set the U.S. record for most different players to score in the group matches, breaking the 2007 Group Stage record of six players scoring in matches against Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and El Salvador. The total also already bests the number of scorers at six previous Gold Cups. The record number of players to score in a single Gold Cup competition for the U.S. is nine, set in 2007.

GOING TO THE BENCH: Group play at the Gold Cup has traditionally given U.S. head coaches the opportunity to shuffle the lineup, and 2009 is no different. In the previous two editions both Bruce Arena in 2005 and Bob Bradley in 2007 each used 22 players in the three games with every player starting at least one match. In the third group game this year, Bradley used Luis Robles, Jimmy Conrad, Jay Heaps, Colin Clark and Sam Cronin for the first time – with all but Conrad, who served as the captain, earning his first cap. Kenny Cooper and Davy Arnaud also made their first start. The U.S. has used 23 players overall, including 22 of the 23 players named to the original roster. Only Jon Busch, who was included on the roster as an emergency goalkeeper, has not appeared. Of the seven additional players that CONCACAF has permitted the U.S. to add to the roster, only Benny Feilhaber has appeared – playing 27 minutes in the victory against Honduras.

QUICK HITS

• With two goals and one assist, Stuart Holden is tied on top of the scoring charts at the CONCACAF Gold Cup after group play with Panama’s Blas Perez. Five other players have scored two goals.
• The U.S. has now been undefeated in group play at all 10 Gold Cups with a 23-0-2 record.
• The last-minute tie against Haiti salvaged at 56-game unbeaten streak at home against CONCACAF opponents that dates to Sept. 1, 2001, when Honduras defeated the U.S. 3-2 in Washington, D.C.
• Before Haiti’s 46th-minute goal in the group finale, the U.S. had a 748-minute shutout streak in group play at the Gold Cup.
• The tie against Haiti was the first time the U.S. failed to win a game in the CONCACAF Gold Cup when scoring a goal.
• Saturday’s semifinal will be the eighth all-time meeting between the U.S. and Panama, with the U.S. undefeated in the series with a 5-0-2 record.
• Panama has scored just three goals in the seven meetings, while the U.S. has 16 – although six came in a lopsided FIFA World Cup qualifier on Oct. 13, 2004.
• The last meeting between the teams was in the quarterfinals of the last edition of the Gold Cup. Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra goals gave the U.S. a 2-1 victory on June 16, 2007.
• The teams drew 0-0 in the final of the 2005 Gold Cup, with the U.S. winning the title 3-1 on penalty kicks. Santino Quaranta converted the first of the three successful U.S. penalties.
• The third meeting between the teams in the Gold Cup was a 2-1 U.S. victory on July 14, 1993.
• The match will be the first international game for the U.S. in Pennsylvania since a 1-0 loss to Ukraine at Bethlehem’s Goodman Stadium on Oct. 23, 1993.
• The last appearance in Philadelphia for an international match was on Sept. 25, 1968, when the U.S. fell to Israel, 4-0.
• The U.S. holds a 36-4-6 all-time record in the regional event and has outscored opponents 89-28.
• With Luis Robles, Jay Heaps, Sam Cronin and Colin Clark earning their first cap against Haiti, there now 85 players to earn a cap under Bob Bradley. All told, 27 different players have scored a goal during Bradley’s tenure.
• Brian Ching is the leading cap winner and the top scorer on the U.S. roster with 38 caps and 10 goals, including one goal in the Gold Cup.
• The balance of the U.S. roster had nine career goals, with five of those coming in the Gold Cup.
• The U.S. is the two-time defending champion of the tournament, hoisting the trophy in 2005 and 2007. The U.S. also won the 1991 and 2002 editions.
• Ching returns from the 23-man squad that won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
• Jimmy Conrad and Quaranta return from the group that won the regional title in 2005 in a penalty-kick shootout against Panama.
• Five of 21 players have appeared in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while one player, Conrad, has appeared in a FIFA World Cup match.
• Goalkeeper Jon Busch, originally on the 23 man roster, is eligible for selection but will not join the team and will remain with the Chicago Fire unless needed due to suspension or injury.

CONCACAF EXPANDS U.S. GOLD CUP ROSTER TO 30 PLAYERS: CONCACAF announced a provision that allows any team participating in the FIFA Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the same year to expand its Gold Cup roster from 23 to 30 players. The provision was provided due to the extreme circumstances that teams face due to playing in back-to-back tournaments. As a result of this provision, the U.S. has added seven players to the U.S. roster for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. All seven players were members of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad in South Africa last month. Forwards Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey, midfielders Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber and Sacha Kljestan, defender Jonathan Bornstein and goalkeeper Brad Guzan will be eligible for selection during the entire tournament; however, the U.S. will not have all seven players present for each Gold Cup match. Only 18 players will be eligible to dress for any given game, and so far only Feilhaber has appeared from this group.

IN FOCUS: PANAMA
PANAMA FACT FILE
Federación Panameña de Fútbol
Founded: 1937 (Joined FIFA in 1938)
Head Coach: Gary Stempel (England)
Best World Cup Finish: Never qualified
Best CONCACAF Gold Cup Finish: Runners-up, 2005
Key Players: Blas Perez, Felipe Baloy, Luis Tejada

THREE TIMES IN A ROW: Panama has been a frequent opponent for the United States in recent Gold Cups, and the match on Saturday will mark the third tournament in a row the two teams have met in the knockout rounds (more below). La Marea Roja fell to Guadeloupe in their first Group C match, but battled back for a 1-1 draw in a contentious game with Mexico. In the final group game Panama thrashed Nicaragua 4-0 to ensure their passage into the quarterfinals.

SERIES HISTORY: The United States has never lost to Panama in seven matches, going 5-0-2 since the teams\' first meeting in 1993. The USA has scored 16 goals against Panama, while only allowing three and U.S. goalkeepers have kept clean sheets in four of the seven games.

IN THE GOLD CUP: The sides first-ever meeting came in the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the U.S. getting a 2-1 win behind goals from Thomas Dooley and Eric Wynalda. In recent years Panama-USA has been a frequent matchup in the Gold Cup. The two sides contested the 2005 final in Foxborough, with the U.S. needing a penalty shootout to lift the trophy. Two years later the teams faced off in a rematch at the same venue. This time the game was a quarterfinal match and the U.S. got two second half goals from Landon Donovan and Carlos Bocanegra to take a lead they would not relinquish, despite a late Panama onslaught and a Blas Perez goal.

BUILDING MOMENTUM: With their tournament lives on the line, Gary Stempel\'s side delivered the goods and dismantled Nicaragua by four goals to earn a place in the knockout round. The win knocked Jamaica out of the competition and assured Panama of at least a third place finish in Group C. When Mexico defeated Guadeloupe, that position was confirmed for Stempel\'s team and preparations began for the game against the United States.

Panama Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Jaime Penedo (Municipal), 12-Oscar McFarlane (Iquitos), 22-Jose Calderón (Chepo)
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Carlos Rivera (San Francisco), 3-Luis Moreno (Tauro), 5-Roman Torres (La Equidad), 13-Joel Solanilla (San Miguelito), 14-Armando Gun (Chepo), 23-Felipe Baloy (Monterrey)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 4-Jose Anthony (Sanarate), 6-Gabriel Gomez (Belenenses), 8-Alberto Blanco (Maccabi Netanya), 10-Nelson Barahona (Atletico Huila), 11-Victor Herrera (San Francisco), 15-Ricardo Phillips (San Francisco), 16-Manuel Torres (San Francisco), 20-Rolando Escobar (Caracas), 21-Amilcar Henriquez (Atletico Huila)
FORWARDS (5): 7-Blas Perez (Pachuca), 9-Jose Garces (Académica), 17-Nicolas Muñoz (Vista Hermosa), 18-Luis Tejada (Millonarios), 19-Orlando Rodriguez (Árabe Unido)