USA 1 - 0 Panama

It was a solid victory for the USA tonight in what was a tepid affair against a Panamanian side that had beaten them 2-1 in the group stages of the tournament. The Americans got the revenge, however, as Clint Dempsey poked home from a pin-point low cross from Landon Donovan that left four defenders and the keeper helpless.

This game had little of the excitement of the encounter from several days ago, however, as neither time was too concerned with attacking at full speed. Panama were without Blas Perez, after he had been sent off in their penalty-kick victory over El Salvador. The loss of Perez left Tejada isolated up front, and although Quintero was active at times, the Central American side forced Tim Howard to produce his best work only once.

The Americans dominated possession in both halves with Alejandro Bedoya the star of the first. He was all over the field, making good tackles, winning fouls, committing fouls, and making a general nuisance of himself. His energy was excellent and he must have been a nightmare for the fatigued Panamanians. Kljestan, Bradley, and Jones were all solid in the middle of the park, and Agudelo did well up front by himself in the absence of the injured Jozy Altidore.

At the back, Bocanegra looked the stronger of the two center backs, mopping up everything that was thrown into the area. Goodson was not bad, but he didn't put in a stunning display. Eric Lichaj looked severely out of place for the first time in the tournament and one fears he may fare even worse against Mexico in the final, assuming they beat Honduras later tonight.

The goal was produced by two second-half substitutes. Landon Donovan was again left out of the starting eleven but was introduced at halftime for Kljestan. Freddy Adu came on for Agudelo less than 20 minutes later. But after a Panama set piece, the ball popped out to Adu, who hit an amazing ball cross field into the path of Donovan, whose low driving cross to the back post caught out the entire Panama defense and left Dempsey with a sliding tap-in.

From there on out, the Americans easily weathered the Panamanian light rain - it couldn't in good faith be dubbed a storm - and booked their place in the Gold Cup final. The game between Mexico and Honduras will decide which team the US meet in the final on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Why on earth the US Soccer Federation would have scheduled a final anticipated to be between the US and Mexico since before the tournament in Pasadena, California is beyond me, but the environment will undoubtedly be excellent, at least for the Mexicans.