On Tuesday, October 15, Panama will be fighting for its life as it takes on a top-ranked USA squad. If Panama loses, they kiss their hopes of competing in the 2014 World Cup goodbye. If they win, the Canaleros might have a shot at facing New Zealand in a playoff for the final spot in this year's qualifiers. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to hit the live stream link to watch the action when it begins tonight at 9:30pm EST.
The US has already locked up its spot at the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro next year, but they say they won't be taking the last game of the qualifying round lightly, either. "Our mindset is straight on playing a good game and going for three points," said US head coach Jurgen Klinesmann, according to Goal.com. "This is World Cup qualifying and World Cup qualifying is serious business. Everyone that is here is highly focused and wants to show a good game." He added that while he was "obviously happy" that his team had already qualified, he had pressed players to perform in a way that prepared them for the Cup. "It's not much that we can try out and see, so all of our players are 100 percent focused. We know what's at stake for Panama. We know what's at stake for Mexico, but we have to take care of our own situation, and we badly want to have three points coming out of that game."
If the USA wins or ties Panama, Mexico would get fourth place in the Hexagonal and land themselves a playoff against New Zealand to qualify for the 2014 Cup. If the Canaleros manage a victory, Mexico needs to lose against a tough Costa Rica squad today as well. But Mexico could also win an automatic berth if they win, Honduras loses to Jamaica, and El Tri manages to overcome a two-goal differential between themselves and Honduras. "It will be a battle for Panama and Mexico to the very last moment," Klinsmann said. "We're pleased that things went okay for us, but we also know what's at stake for the other teams." Panama might have a pretty good shot at taking home a victory, as the US will be missing defenders Matt Besler and DaMarcus Beasley and midfielders Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones.
Click here to watch via beIn Sport at 9:30 EST as the two teams face off at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.
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