Despite being down a man, the United States men’s national team still found a way to grab the opening goal on Thursday.
The U.S. — who fell to Panama 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta — in the second group stage match for the 2024 Copa America, immediately got into trouble when forward Tim Weah got sent off with a red card just 18 minutes in after throwing a punch, meeting Panama’s defender Roderick Miller in the back of his head in an off-ball incident.
Despite initially being shown a yellow card, center official Iván Barton changed it to red after a video review.
Nevertheless, the USMNT was able to get some push on the offensive end.
Four minutes after Weah left the pitch in disappointment, Folarin Balogun sent shockwaves through Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with an impressive goal.
It all started when Antonee Robinson intercepted a pass from Panama on the flank before finding Balogun in the attacking third.
The rest was beauty; Balogun connected with Robinson off a one-two play, where Robinson set the layoff pass with flair.
Balogun met the ball with his left foot and barreled it into the top corner, meeting the post on its way to the goal.
The strike left goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera’s left post reverberating.
Unfortunately for the United States, the lead did not last long, as César Blackman grabbed the equalizer in the 16th minute.
It left the two sides locked at 1-1 heading into the second half until Panama scored the game-winner in the late stages on José Fajardo goal to close out the surprise win.
But it was Weah’s punch that put the U.S. in a hole they couldn’t dig out of.
“You never mean to get a red card. Under no type of circumstances,” teammate Tyler Adams said. “He apologized to the team.”
Weah issued a public apology on social media.
“I let my team and my country down,” he said. “A moment of frustration let to an irreversible consequence, and for that I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans.”
Weah was sent off by Salvadoran referee Iván Barton with a straight red card for punching Roderick Miller in the back of the head.
“A silly, silly decision by Timmy that leaves us shorthanded,” coach Gregg Berhalter said.
The U.S., who has three points along with Panama, were coming off a 2-0 win over Bolivia in their Copa America opener on Sunday.
“A win tonight would have put us in a great position, and unfortunately the opposite happened,” American captain Christian Pulisic said. “I’m proud of the effort that we responded with after obviously what happened (with Weah), but just really disappointed that’s the way we did it.”
— with AP