Relive Nations League semifinals: How USMNT and Canada were ousted

Underdog Panama stunned the 16th-ranked United States and Mexico outfoxed Canada in the Nations League semifinals on Thursday to book their places in Sunday's final. theScore covered the biggest moments and plays in real time below.

What you need to know 📌

• Raul Jimenez wins it for Mexico
• Canada denied sure penalty
• U.S. loses in 94th minute
• Pochettino's sober thoughts
• Panama's hero meets Henry
• Disappointing crowd for U.S.
• How we got to this point

Real letdown for Canada

It's not just that Canada lost to Mexico, which isn't disappointing on its own. It's that Canada's men's national team is still struggling to take the next step in its evolution from credible opponent to continental champion. Head coach Jesse Marsch has made a goal of changing the team's DNA, demanding the team be aggressive and fearless against any opponent. We know this team can fight - the players stood their ground against Mexico when in previous decades they would've shrunk - but at some point the equation has to equal something. That something must be goals.

Scoring has been an issue since Marsch replaced John Herdman last year. There are tough questions to ask of veteran Cyle Larin, who's one of the first names on the team sheet despite scoring just once for Canada in his last 13 appearances, as well as Canada's all-time leading scorer, Jonathan David, who's a goal machine for French club Lille but not as reliable for his country.

Captain Alphonso Davies told TSN's Matthew Scianitti that the loss was a "learning" experience. This really was an opportunity lost. Canada may not have a full roster for what's expected to be a stripped-down version of the Gold Cup. Davies, Tajon Buchanan, and Stephen Eustaquio will likely be participating in the concurrent FIFA Club World Cup, as will a number of other countries' star players. That leaves Canada with few, if any competitive games before the 2026 World Cup.

Canada has no choice but to approach the third-place match as a final - if only to prove it's on the right path.

FT: Canada 0-2 Mexico

Mexico advances to final 🇲🇽

Canada 0-2 Mexico
Full-time

Raul Jimenez will make headlines for his first-minute opener and second-half free-kick, but Mexico ultimately beat Canada in a game of attrition, showing more composure than its northern rival in pivotal moments. El Tri will face Panama in the Nations League final on Sunday in a rematch of the 2023 Gold Cup final that they won at the same venue.

Canada will rue what could've been and reflect on its goal-scoring struggles. Head coach Jesse Marsch spoke at great length before the tournament about rising to the challenge, but his players couldn't do that here. The second half was uninspiring from Canada's perspective given a reaction was not only expected but required. Marsch's team will face the United States in a third-place match that rings a little hollow even against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing annexation and tariff threats.

GOAL MEXICO! 🚨

Canada 0-2 Mexico
75th minute

Raul Jimenez's bending free-kick may have just ended it. Questions could be asked of goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who had enough time to push out Jimenez's shot but didn't react quickly enough. He may not have even set up his wall properly. Jimenez had an easy time bending around it. The task becomes infinitely harder now with the ball hardly in play for more than 30 seconds. Mexico has been happy to push the ball out of bounds and even give up a foul, and Canada hasn't had much of a rhythm at all.

Canada's interesting bench options

Canada 0-1 Mexico
63rd minute

Dynamic wingers Jacob Shaffelburg and Tajon Buchanan just came on, but first-time call-ups Promise David and Daniel Jebbison remain viable forward options as Canada searches for an equalizer. David, who's starred for Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise this season, has appeared twice for Nigeria's Under-23 side, and Jebbison played 13 times for England's youth teams, but the two were eligible to play for Canada, where they were born, because they hadn't yet played senior international soccer for another national team.

And breathe ... 😮‍💨

Canada 0-1 Mexico
Halftime

Canada didn't fold after conceding early and kept attacking Mexico's goal as if nothing had happened. While the referee missed a clear-cut penalty, Jesse Marsch's side failed to generate a quality chance in the first half and seemed to lose its focus as Mexico pleaded for fouls and worked the referee. Canada's bench could provide some answers. Ali Ahmed is struggling on the right flank, and Cyle Larin and Jonathan David aren't doing enough up front. Three of Canada's four defenders are also on yellow cards. The back line may need a change before Mexico forces a red.

Another warning shot for Canada

Canada 0-1 Mexico
39th minute

The offside flag kept Mexico from taking a critical 2-0 lead. Edson Alvarez strayed behind the last defender as he finished off a wonderful in-swinging free-kick that Canada's Alistair Johnston conceded with a needless kick from behind. Johnston has to be careful as he's already on a yellow card, but Mexico's counterattack is stretching Canada's back line and consistently forcing the last defender to do something they may not want to do.

Card-happy ref raises temperature 🌡️

Canada 0-1 Mexico
33rd minute

Referee Hector Martinez has booked four players after 33 minutes and isn't hesitating to blow his whistle whenever there's contact. Canada has to keep its cool as it chases this game and deals with a clearly partisan Mexican crowd. The Canadians will get their chances on set pieces but can't afford to get into any kind of tit for tat with Mexico. "We have to be smart each and every time we want to get in a dispute," captain Alphonso Davies told OneSoccer's Kristian Jack before the match. "Maybe that's what they want - because they know that we're a very aggressive team and they're going to play aggressive - but if we can stay with 11 on the pitch and come together as one and have that bond, regardless of how hostile the environment is, if we can focus on our goal, we'll achieve it."

Canada denied stonewall penalty

Canada 0-1 Mexico
10th minute

Canada was up in arms after Mexico's Edson Alvarez kicked Canadian defender Derek Cornelius in the cleat in the penalty area. Replays showed Alvarez initiated contact as Cornelius stole ahead of him, but the VAR chose not to recommend a review. That's the kind of outrageous call that undermines confidence in video assistant referees and the entire replay system.

Cornelius said after the match that, in his view, the incident was a "clear" penalty.

GOAL MEXICO! 🚨

Canada 0-1 Mexico
1st minute

Not a minute has passed and Mexico is already in the lead. Raul Jimenez played a quick one-two on the edge of the area, and an unlucky bounce allowed him to slip into space and slide a shot past Dayne St. Clair. That's a horrible goal for Canada to give up and only the third it has conceded in its last six matches. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre gambled by starting two strikers up front. So far, it's paid off.

More than Canada's pride at stake

Last month, Canada coach Jesse Marsch publicly pleaded for U.S. President Donald Trump to drop his "ridiculous rhetoric" about making Canada the 51st state, saying he was "ashamed" as an American of the "arrogance and disregard" Trump had shown amid ongoing threats of tariffs. But the Wisconsin native sidestepped further questions this week, telling reporters "the most important thing we can do now (is) to be Canadian, to be nationalistic, to be proud of what's being created up there, is to make sure that we perform in this tournament." Marsch is the only American to coach Canada's men's team and has held the position since replacing John Herdman last year.

Panama's hero meets his hero

Panama's Cecilio Waterman, a journeyman striker who now plays in Chile, ran immediately toward Thierry Henry and embraced him after scoring the biggest goal of his career. After the match, Waterman spent a few minutes with his hero, speaking to him in Spanish in a touching scene on CBS Sports Golazo.

"Last night, they asked me who my childhood idol was, and I said Thierry Henry ... I scored, saw you, and knew I had to come say hi."

Waterman gifted his shirt to Henry and signed it, and the Frenchman promised to send him one of his Arsenal kits.

Canada's lineup is out 📋

Head coach Jesse Marsch is lining up his players in a traditional 4-4-2 formation:

Dayne St. Clair; Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Alphonso Davies; Ali Ahmed, Stephen Eustaquio, Ismael Kone, Jonathan Osorio; Jonathan David, Cyle Larin

Marsch revealed half of his lineup on Monday, naming Cyle Larin, Jonathan David, and Stephen Eustaquio as guaranteed starters and Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito, Derek Cornelius, and Alphonso Davies as keystones of his back four. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair snatched the No. 1 position from Maxime Crepeau, who backstopped Canada to the Copa America semifinals last summer but recently lost playing time with the Portland Timbers. The Vancouver Whitecaps' Ali Ahmed is the biggest surprise, winning a place ahead of Tajon Buchanan.

Canada should sense opportunity 🇨🇦

A number of Canadians in attendance for the United States' loss to Panama celebrated Cecilio Waterman's winner, and with good reason: If Canada can beat Mexico, it will have an excellent chance of winning its first men's international title since the 2000 Gold Cup.

Canada is 31st in FIFA's global rankings, the highest it's ever been and a long way off its historic low of 122nd. It feels like it's turned a corner since being eliminated with three losses at the 2022 World Cup. Head coach Jesse Marsch described his 23-man roster as "the strongest the Canadian national team has ever looked." Mexican counterpart Javier Aguirre seems to agree. "This is not the same Canada we talked about for years," he said recently. "No, no, no. This is a very respected rival."

Canada is undefeated against Mexico in three matches and famously beat El Tri in the so-called Iceteca during a World Cup qualifier in November 2021.

Huge setback for Pochettino's project

The postmortem on the United States' Nations League elimination should go deep and hard. This team has made a habit of winning this tournament, and now it seems to be going backwards. Defender Tim Ream lamented afterward that Panama won with just a single shot on target, but what did the U.S. really do to win? It manufactured precious little with a whopping 67% possession, only producing something worthwhile in the final 10 minutes with a series of balls over the top that scrambled Panama's otherwise resolute defense. The problem is that the U.S. waited so long to try it.

Mauricio Pochettino spoke about winning the World Cup in the days leading up to this semifinal. Winning what? Not with this group of players approaching such big games with this kind of attitude. Christian Pulisic was the most disappointing of all. His mishit backpass gave Panama possession in second-half stoppage time, and Cecilio Waterman delivered the hammer blow the U.S. deserved.

"We are USA, but you cannot win with your shirt," Pochettino told reporters, including FOX Sports' Doug McIntyre. "You need to come here and be better and suffer and win the duels and work hard. If not, it's not going to be enough."

FT: United States 0-1 Panama

PANAMA WINS! 🚨

United States 0-1 Panama
94th minute

Just when it seemed extra time was inevitable, Panama's Cecilio Waterman stunned the U.S. with the winning goal off a broken play in midfield. Waterman came on as a substitute and had the composure to arrow a shot into Matt Turner's far corner. The Americans couldn't find a way past Panama's wall of 11 and ended up losing after Christian Pulisic's brutal giveaway in midfield. And the U.S., a three-time defending Nations League champion, is out at the semifinal stage. The U.S. has now lost in four of its past five competitive matches against Panama.

Frustration building for U.S. 😖

United States 0-0 Panama
78th minute

Chris Richards drew the first yellow card of the game after catching his opponent in a duel at midfield. Christian Pulisic then played a pass to no one and ended up committing a foul at Panama's corner flag. To cap a truly unfortunate few minutes, Yunus Musah tried to clear from his own area but slipped and conceded a corner kick. Nothing seems to be working for the U.S. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino threw on MLS-based players Patrick Agyemang and Jack McGlynn in the hopes of stirring up a response. Good thing because his European-based contingent is stinking up the joint.

Panama just needs one chance

United States 0-0 Panama
61st minute

Panama is defending with five at the back and giving the U.S. a hard time. It's closing passing lanes and blocking shots whenever the host nation does get into a dangerous position. Panama gave up a number of corner kicks in succession at the start of the second half but handled each of them easily. The longer this goes on, the greater the chance that we may see an upset.

Pochettino can't be happy 🫤

United States 0-0 Panama
Halftime

Fans booed the Americans off the pitch after watching them run around for 45 minutes. It was uninspiring stuff from Mauricio Pochettino's side, which showed little of the high-energy play that it promised earlier in his reign. Panama is finding passing lanes and forced an early scare after dispossessing U.S. defender Chris Richards. But the U.S. continues to do little with more of the ball. Where is Christian Pulisic? He's got to start pulling the strings because these sideways passes and hopeful crosses aren't cutting it.

Brutal turnout in California

United States 0-0 Panama
37th minute

SoFi Stadium fits 70,000 people but is barely a quarter full for the U.S. game. There was always a risk staging these semifinals at such a massive venue. The U.S. nearly sold out St. Louis City's Energizer Park for its quarterfinal second leg against Jamaica. The more intimate environment made the game feel important. The early 4 p.m. PT kickoff may have something to do with it. You'd expect Mexican supporters to turn out in droves for the second of Thursday's games.

U.S. growing into the game

United States 0-0 Panama
24th minute

Panama is clearly not afraid of the U.S. Having already beaten the Americans in the Copa America, the Panamanians are pressing high and forcing turnovers early on. The U.S. lost its equilibrium to start but is slowly gaining a foothold and nearly scored in the 19th minute when Josh Sargent forced a shot against the bar. Weston McKennie headed into the goalkeeper's grateful arms a minute later and Sargent had a goal ruled out. The U.S. needs to move the ball quicker than it has to truly take advantage.

We're off! ⏰

And the first of Thursday's semifinals is live. Josh Sargent kicks off and the U.S. controls possession for the first couple of minutes in front of a sparsely populated SoFi Stadium.

How has the U.S. performed lately?

Mauricio Pochettino has had a positive impact since replacing Gregg Berhalter as U.S. head coach, winning five of his first six matches. The usual suspects — including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Yunus Musah, who all happen to play in the Italian Serie A — continue to headline Pochettino's lineups. The U.S. has played a lot like Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur, relying on quick transitions and high-energy pressing. It just struggles a bit in defense, where 37-year-old Tim Ream still gets regular minutes.

Pochettino's pre-game record

The lowdown on Panama 👇

Panama's most impressive win of 2024 was against the Americans in Atlanta last summer. The 2-1 victory helped the Central Americans reach the Copa America quarterfinals and eliminate the host nation. Don't pay too much attention to the headline-grabbing 6-1 loss Panama suffered in a February friendly against Chile: Only two of the players who are on its Nations League roster participated in that game. Forward Jose Fajardo, 31, is Panama's leading active scorer with 15 international goals and is starting Thursday night.

USMNT lineup released 📋

Mauricio Pochettino appears to be using a 4-2-3-1 formation with Yunus Musah at right-back and Tanner Tessman in a more advanced midfield role:

Matt Turner; Yunus Musah, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Joe Scally; Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie; Christian Pulisic, Tanner Tessmann, Tim Weah; Josh Sargent

Pochettino had to reshuffle his back line after losing injured Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson, who's become a key cog in his system and operated in more of a midfield quarterback role as of late. There are also absences along the forward line, with Monaco's Folarin Balogun and PSV Eindhoven's Ricardo Pepi out injured. Josh Sargeant, who's scored eight goals in his last 10 games for second-tier Championship side Norwich City, worked himself into his first competitive international start since September 2021.

Why the Nations League matters

The CONCACAF Nations League isn't the most important North American soccer tournament. It's only seven years old, and the biannual Gold Cup, which has been contested in its current form since 1991, usually takes precedence.

But this summer, teams participating in the FIFA Club World Cup don't have to release their players, potentially leaving Canada and the U.S. to enter the concurrent Gold Cup without a number of their stars. Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, Inter's Tajon Buchanan, Juventus' Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, and Porto's Stephen Eustaquio are just some of the headliners who could miss out.

So the Nations League is considered Canada and the United States' last pre-World Cup opportunity to play in a competitive tournament with full rosters.

So how did we get here?

The tournament began last September with 41 teams separated into three leagues. Lower-tier CONCACAF sides like Barbados and the Cayman Islands started in League C, mid-tier teams like Haiti and El Salvador competed in League B, and the top 16 outfits on the continent completed League A.

League A is the focus of our attention as it generated the semifinalists we see today.

Costa Rica and Suriname advanced from one group of six, while Jamaica and Honduras topped the other. Canada, Mexico, Panama, and the United States joined those teams in the quarterfinal stage via automatic berths.

Canada shut out Suriname over two legs to reach the semifinals 4-0 on aggregate. Mexico trailed Honduras 2-0 after a stunning first leg but rallied in the second with a 4-0 win that sealed its place in the final four. Panama narrowly defeated Costa Rica 3-2 on aggregate, while the U.S. battled past a capable Jamaica side 5-2.

Each quarterfinal winner also qualified for this summer's Gold Cup.

The winner of the Nations League will receive $2 million, with the runner-up collecting $1 million. Third place is worth $600,000, and fourth comes with a $200,000 consolation prize.