2013 Gold Cup: USA defeat Panama 1-0

As the European club season starts to round back into shape, we had to say goodbye to the latest version of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. This year's final gave us a bit of a surprise, because many of us expected a USA vs Mexico showdown.

Instead, we got a clash between Panama and the United States. Panama shocked Mexico in the group stage and in the semifinals to arrive at the final game with a boatload of confidence. And while riding the greatest winning streak in it's history, the USA we're also high on their confidence.

Even though Panama is considered a "weak" team in CONCACAF, they put up a great fight, making the USA struggle to finish chances in the first half. They even had a few counter-attack chances that made me sweat (I'm a big USA fan).

The second half was a bit more like normalcy for the USA during this tournament. They started linking up well with another, and it culminated in a goal by Brek Shea that proved to be the game winner in the 69th minute. Although Shea hasn't had the most consistent tournament, he's been very clutch. He's scored twice, and they've both proved to be game winners against some of the best teams in the tournament (Costa Rica in the group stage, Panama today). After the whistle blew, the fans at Soldier Field went wild and the players went crazy. U.S. Soccer made their claim to be the best in CONCACAF.

The only downside to this game was the injury towards midfielder Stuart Holden. Many big USA fans know the talent & bad luck that Stu has. Injuries towards his knee have cost him a couple of years, and it's been a huge uphill battle just for him to get back to the national team. To see him going down today was horrifying. Luckily, it was only diagnosed as a sprained knee. Hopefully it's only a minor sprain and he can get back to playing well for Bolton. Our good vibes and prayers are with you, Stu! #NoHoldenBack