USA vs. Panama, Olympic Qualifying: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread and More

Welcome to your live thread for the United States Women's National Team vs. Panama in the second round of Concacaf Olympic qualifying in Group A. The Yanks and La Marea Roja are grouped with Haiti and Costa Rica and the round robin of group play will conclude Feb. 3, with the top two teams moving on to the knockout stage.

The U.S. opened qualifying with a less-than-stellar 4-0 win over Haiti on Tuesday night, after Panama had fallen 6-1 to Costa Rica. Therefore, Costa Rica enters the second match day in first place in the group due to goal differential (+5) over the USWNT (+4). Haiti (-4) is third, with Panama (-5) in fourth.

This is only the third meeting of the two nations. The U.S. is 2-0-0 in the all-time series, winning 9-0 back in 2002 World Cup qualifying and 5-0 in 2018 World Cup qualifying. The scorers of all five goals in that 2018 match are on the current USWNT roster. Carli Lloyd had a hat trick, with Christen Press and Sam Mewis each adding a goal.

The USWNT is riding a 14-game unbeaten streak (13-0-1) since a 3-1 road loss in France on Jan. 19 of last year.

The U.S. has breezed through Concacaf Olympic qualifying, posting a record of 19-0-1 while outscoring opponents 102-3. The lone draw was a 1-1 final against Canada in the 2008 title game and the USWNT went on to win the ensuing penalty shootout.

As with Haiti, Panama is unlikely to put up too much of a fight against the United States. FIFA’s 53rd-ranked team will also need to deal with something Haiti didn’t — a U.S. team with a competitive match under its belt. The Yanks will hope they knocked some of the rust off on Tuesday and could qualify for the knockout stage tonight depending on results.

This is Panama’s second ever Concacaf Olympic qualifying tournament appearance and the team’s 53rd world ranking is its highest to date. Panama got here by beating Honduras 3-0 and Guatemala 3-1. Marta Cox and Karla Riley each scored in both of those matches.

The USWNT squad features three members of the Orlando Pride — goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defenders Ali Krieger and Emily Sonnett. Alex Morgan is pretty far along in her pregnancy and is not expected to be available until at least the pre-Olympic camp.

Rosters

USWNT (Caps/Goals)

Goalkeepers (3): 12-Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 3/0), 18-Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 24/0), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 58/0).

Defenders (6): 7-Abby Dahlkemper (North Carolina Courage; 54/0), 19-Crystal Dunn (North Carolina Courage; 97/24), 11-Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 104/1), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 126/2), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 172/0), 2-Emily Sonnett (Orlando Pride; 41/0).

Midfielders (5): 8-Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 96/19), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 79/13), 16-Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 39/10), 3-Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage; 61/14), 6-Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 15/0).

Forwards (6): 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 162/32), 10-Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 289/122), 14-Jessica McDonald (North Carolina Courage; 14/2), 20-Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 131/52), 15-Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC; 161/50), 13-Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage; 22/7).

Panama

Goalkeepers (3): 1-Yenith Bailey (Club Libertad Limpeño, PAR), 12-Sasha Fabrega (Tauro FC), 20-Nadia Ducreux (Costa Del Este).

Defenders (8): 2-Rebeca Espinoza (Universitario), 3-Yomira Pinzon (CD Pozoalbense, ESP), 4-Hilary Jaen (Tauro FC), 6-Maria Murillo (Atletico Nacional, COL), 8-Katherine Castillo (Universitario), 14-Maryorie Perez (Tauro FC), 15-Ana Rodriguez (Cai), 19-Arlen Hernandez (Universitario).  

Midfielders (5): 5-Yerenis De Leon (Universitario), 7-Maria Guevara (Universitario), 10-Aldrith Quintero (Tauro FC), 11-Marta Cox (Universitario), 17-Gabriela Villagrand (Angelo State University, USA).                         

Forwards (4): 9-Amarelis De Mera (Tauro FC), 13-Susy Cassinova (Plaza Amador), 16-Gloria Saenz (Cai), 18-Keisilyn Gutierrez (Universitario).

How to Watch

Match Time: 8:30 p.m. (ET).

Venue: BBVA Stadium — Houston, TX.

TV: Fox Sports Plus, TUDN XTRA 4.

Streaming: FOX Sports GO.

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @StarsStripesFC, @USWNT, and @TheManeLand.