San Zusi Rescues Mexico

On This Day in 2013, the U.S. Came From Behind With Two 90-Plus Minute Goals to End Panama's World Cup Dreams

The United States entered the final night of CONCACAF qualifying already assured of a spot in Brazil. There was no pressure, no desperation, no need to win. And yet, Jürgen Klinsmann knew something his team's reserve roster might not have fully grasped: qualifying was one thing, but the manner in which you qualified mattered.

"Once you achieve the goal of qualifying, you understand that the next higher level is already waiting for us," Klinsmann had said in the days before the match in Panama City. "The World Cup is a couple of levels higher up than the qualifying. Everything we do now sets the tone for the summer of 2014."

Just four days earlier, the Americans had defeated Jamaica 2-0 at Sporting Park, clinching first place in the World Cup qualifying group for the third straight cycle. Graham Zusi had entered as a second-half substitute and provided immediate energy, scoring within minutes of coming onto the pitch. Jozy Altidore scored the second four minutes later to seal the win. The victory validated Klinsmann's depth-building experiment and proved that American soccer had developed sufficient resources to win without its elite players.

Yet this final assignment in Panama felt different. The host nation, desperate and dangerous, would be fighting for its World Cup life. Mexico, meanwhile, sat precariously in fourth place, their tournament hopes contingent on results elsewhere. For a nation that hadn't missed the World Cup since 1990, the stakes were existential.

The rain fell heavily on Panama City as the October 15 match began, but it was the Americans who looked sluggish and uncertain. Without their starting centerpieces—Michael Bradley nursing an ankle injury, Clint Dempsey battling a hamstring problem, and Eddie Johnson sidelined with a groin strain—the U.S. team seemed content to merely participate rather than dominate.

Panama, sensing vulnerability, struck first. In the 18th minute, Gabriel Torres found space at the edge of the American box and finished with clinical precision past Brad Guzan, sending the home crowd into rapture. The Panamanians were within touching distance of a playoff berth, and the momentum seemed entirely theirs. Costa Rica, in San José, was drawing 1-1 with Mexico, setting the stage for a night of dramatic interconnected storylines.

For 46 minutes, the Americans drifted. Altidore worked tirelessly up front, holding the ball and fighting for possession, but his teammates struggled to find rhythm. The midfield looked congested, the flanks vulnerable. It was a team playing with one eye on next summer and the other on the clock. But something shifted after halftime. Perhaps it was Klinsmann's halftime adjustments, or perhaps the American players simply understood that they were on the verge of starting their tournament on the wrong note. The tempo increased. Passes found their targets more consistently. The U.S. began moving the ball with the kind of purposeful directness that had carried them through qualifying.

In the 64th minute, Michael Orozco rose highest at the back post to meet a corner kick from the left. His header was precise, finding the near corner and sending an electric jolt through the American contingent. The match was suddenly level, and almost simultaneously—as if written by an improbable screenwriter—news filtered through that Costa Rica had taken a 2-1 lead against Mexico. The mathematics of CONCACAF qualifying had shifted in an instant. Panama, tied and watching Mexico fall behind in San José, understood that its qualification dream was evaporating. They needed to score, not merely defend.

And they nearly did. In the 83rd minute, Luis Tejada latched onto a loose ball at the edge of the American box and bundled home. The stadium erupted again. Panama was minutes away from the playoff berth. Mexico, down 2-1 to Costa Rica, was watching their World Cup dreams spiral toward elimination for the first time in more than three decades. What followed was the kind of moment that defines tournaments and shapes legacies—not just for the teams involved, but for entire qualifying cycles. The Americans, playing without their biggest names, refused to accept defeat in the final moments.

With Panama content to see out the victory, the U.S. pressed forward with mounting urgency. In the 92nd minute, a cross from Brad Davis from the left found Zusi at the back post. His header was firm and true, finding the net and unleashing a collective gasp through the Panamanian crowd. The sellout stadium fell silent. Suddenly, improbably, the Americans were level again. Before Panama could gather their emotions, Aron Johannsson struck. Just a minute later, the Icelandic-American forward unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that found the corner past the outstretched dive of Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. The American bench exploded. Panama's players, their World Cup aspirations evaporating in real time, collapsed to the turf in tears.

The irony was inescapable. The United States, having already secured its passage to Brazil, had just eliminated one team and granted new life to another. Mexico, moments from playoff obscurity, suddenly found themselves advancing to a two-legged playoff against New Zealand. Panama, so close to the promised land, would watch the World Cup from home.

For Klinsmann and his American team, the late-night heroics provided something more valuable than three points. They offered proof that this squad had learned to finish matches, could overcome adversity, and that American soccer had evolved into something tougher and more resilient than before. The U.S. finished with 22 points in the hexagonal—matching their record for a qualifying cycle—and validated the manager's philosophy that depth, competition and mental toughness were as important as talent.

"We want to finish off the year on a high note," Klinsmann had said before the match. In the rain-soaked streets of Panama City, watching their rivals cry and their distant supporters celebrate, the Americans had done exactly that. They had turned what could have been a meaningless final appearance into a statement about who they were becoming. Brazil was waiting. And now, the world would see if this American team could sustain that late-night momentum when the stakes were truly at their highest.