In our match preview informing you where and how to watch Panama go toe-to-toe with the USWNT, we compare how each team performed in their first group stage match, analyze both team’s head-to-head record and talk about players to watch.

A disgruntled U.S. Women's National Team will take on a Panamanian squad that was dismantled by Costa Rica on Matchday 1 of the Concacaf Women's Olympic Qualifying. The match will be played at the BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the Houston Dash and Dynamo, on Friday, January 31.

Matchday 1 analysis

Costa Rica finished in first place after the first round of group stages and the USWNT players are most likely dreading every second until their match on Friday evening. Despite putting four goals past Haiti and keeping a clean sheet, the host nation finished second to las Ticas after the first set of games by a one-goal differential.

The U.S. opened the scoreline after just 76 seconds when Lynn Williams delivered a precise cross with her bare sock after losing her left cleat finding Christen Press with at the back-post. Haiti scored an equalizer off a corner, but luckily for the Stars and Stripes, the goal was called back even though it was a fair one. After a frustrating first half, nonetheless, the home team came back stronger in the second scoring three goals via Williams, Lindsey Horan and Carli Lloyd, who is now one goal away from going level with Abby Wambach's 14-goal team record in this competition. 

Nevertheless, the performance was lackluster especially in the first half and USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski was not impressed by what he saw. 

"It (second half) was better than the first half, but still not as good as I feel like this team can play," Andonovski said in his post-match interview. "We could have created more opportunities and I felt like we could have scored more goals, but we were not able to, so we have to develop that ruthlessness and that killer instinct when we're in and around the box."

As for the Panamanians, they suffered a 6-1 loss in their first-ever CWOQ match. Their best moment of the match came in the 45th minute when 23-year-old defender Katherine Lineth Castillo Macias, who played a right midfielder role on Tuesday, slotted one in past Noelia Bermudez. This was Panama's first goal in CWOQ history.

Panama's manager Raiza Gutierrez has a lot of things to fix ahead of Friday's match, but spacing and positioning should be at the top of the list. On several occasions on Tuesday, the Panamanian defense and midfield left huge gaps allowing Costa Rican attackers to exploit them and create numerous opportunities. Also, someone must tell Yenith Bailey to calm down and be more composed in terms of coming off her line. She conceded a penalty and left her goal unattended by stepping off her line carelessly on two other instances. To be fair, the defense did not help her much.

Panama vs USWNT: head-to-head 

The USWNT defeated Panama 5-0 on U.S. soil back on October 7, 2018, during the Concacaf Women's Championship. Carli Lloyd, who is two goals away from surpassing Abby Wambach's record, scored a hattrick on that day.

The Stars and Stripes broke through Panama's defense many times taking 35 shots and 17 on target. Panama's pass accuracy was better in this match completing 72% of their passes as to Tuesday's 58% completion rate against Costa Rica. 

Players to watch

USWNT – Lynn Williams

Williams is one of the two non-World Cup members in USA's 20-player roster for the Olympic Qualifying tournament and, as she usually does with the North Carolina Courage, impressed spectators with an energetic playmaking performance. The 26-year-old did exactly what Andonovski was looking for from her while scoring one goal and assisting another.

"Lynn basically did what we were expecting from her," said Andonovski. "to run in the backline, get behind them, she had an unbelievable assist on the first goal and created a couple of good opportunities for us. She did what we were expecting or asked her to and we're very happy with her."

Williams prepared herself for this competition like no other player on Andonovski's roster. She had a fantastic 2019 NWSL season where she scored 12 goals – second top scorer – and assisted 5 in 21 starts for the league winners, North Carolina Courage. The Fresno, California native decided to go across the pacific to keep her gears turning in Sydney as she anticipated a national team call-up after a dream season. She went on a loan to W-League side Western Sydney Wanderers where she played five matches and converted four goals and three assists during the NWSL offseason. 

She was the standout player against Haiti and will look to keep the same momentum against Panama on Friday.

Panama – Katherine Lineth Castillo Macias 

Castillo scored the lone goal in Panama's 6-1 defeat against Central American foe Costa Rica. Defensively, the Panamanian's will not stand a chance against the United States, but offensively, there is a chance Castillo finishing from a breakaway. She's not a proven goal scorer yet, but a goal against the U.S. can sure be the continuation of something special to come from the 23-year-old.

Panama vs USWNT: broadcast information

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Panama vs USA

January 31, 2020 8:30pmBBVA Stadium

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

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