INGLEWOOD, MARCH 21: Cecilio Waterman scored a stoppage-time winner as Panama stunned defending champions the United States 1-0 to book their place in the CONCACAF Nations League final on Thursday.
In a shock result that came in Mauricio Pochettino's first competitive match in charge of the United States, Waterman slammed home a low angled finish in the fourth minute of stoppage time to send the holders crashing out at a half-empty SoFi Stadium.
The result sends Panama into Sunday's final, where they will face Mexico, who completed a clinical 2-0 victory over Canada in Thursday's other semi-final.
But the defeat sends US coach Pochettino back to the drawing board after a performance from the 2026 World Cup co-hosts that the Argentine described afterwards as "really painful."
"I am very, very disappointed," Pochettino said. "I could see that the way we approached the game and start wasn't in the right way.
"We didn't show aggression with the ball, we didn't show aggression in a defensive way...the first half was really painful," the former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach added.
Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. �"AFP
