Gold Cup 2013: USA 1-0 Panama

The USA was victorious over Panama this Sunday by a score of 1-0, capturing the 5th Gold Cup Championship for the Red, White and Blues.  As expected veteran Landon Donovan played superb providing an assist on substitute Brek Shea's goal in the 69th minute.  The USA played extremely well dominating possession with 69.3% as well as limiting Panama to 0 shots on net.  The statistics tell the total story of the match, as the USA completed 84% of there passes while Panama only completed 67%.  The Gold Cup Championship captured by the USA has seemed to pave the way for the likes of Landon Donovan, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman, Joe Corona and Brek Shea all possibly playing themselves back into contention for the 2014 World Cup squad.

The biggest aspects the USA capitalized on during the match was owning the time of possession and playing with total composure.  The entire match, the USA seemed to dictate the flow of the game. Previous USA sides have not been able to control the flow of the game as well, baring the level of the opponent. However, the largest sign a team is progressing is to see them handily beat teams they are suppose to.

As I stated in my preview of the final, I labelled Landon Donovan as the key to victory and as predicted he came through.  Donovan who was named as the Golden Ball winner of the tournament, provided a total of 5 goals and 8 assists through the group stages and knockout rounds.  His ability to get involved in the offense as well as the defensive side of play set the tone early.  His effort was rewarded when he assisted on Brek Shea's goal during the 69th minute. As well as Landon, Kyle Beckerman put in a phenomenal performance capturing the Man of the Match honors.  I expect this duo to be featured on the upcoming World Cup Qualifying roster, once fixtures return.

The USA's 2013 Gold Cup campaign is one which will be looked back on as extremely successful. With the return of World Cup Qualifying looming, Uncle Sam's Army seems to be in the proper position for a promising World Cup 2014 push.