U.S. loses to Panama in Gold Cup third-place game

If this was DaMarcus Beasley's final moment with the U.S. men's national soccer team, it isn't the way he wanted to go out.

Beasley, who announced he was planning to retire from the national team, had his penalty kick blocked by Panama's Luis Mejia. That clinched the penalty kick shootout for Panama, 3-2, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup third-place game before 12,598 Saturday at PPL Park.

The teams had played to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes.

"It is tough to lose like that, not just . . . because it could be my last game but because we didn't get the result we wanted," said Beasley, who has left the window open to return.

The loss ended a bitterly disappointing Gold Cup for the United States, in which it lost, 2-1, in the semifinal to Jamaica and was clearly outplayed by a Panama team that was missing five starters because of injury or suspension but appeared far more interested in being there.

"From a soccer standpoint, from a playing standpoint, it wasn't good enough," U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan said.

A year after reaching the World Cup round of 16, the Americans certainly haven't taken a step forward.

"We are a work in progress," coach Jurgen Klinsmann said.

Guzan kept the United States in the game with several big saves in regulation and extra time.

His counterpart, Mejia, blocked a penalty kick by Michael Bradley and saw another by Fabian Johnson go over the crossbar.

Aron Johannsson and Clint Dempsey hit the first two U.S. penalty kicks.

Panama, which unlike the Americans wasn't afraid to take on defenders one-on-one, broke through when Roberto Nurse spun two defenders on their heels and easily slid in a 12-yarder in the 55th minute.

Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin were inserted in the 60th minute and they combined on a goal 10 minutes later. The play began with Bradley's long feed to Yedlin, who drew Mejia out of position and sent a back pass to Dempsey, who fired into an open net. It was his seventh goal in this Gold Cup.

Panama, which enjoyed a 25-5 advantage in shots, kept applying the pressure, easily putting its controversial 2-1 semifinal loss to Mexico behind it.

Notes. The United States has been drawn into Group C of CONCACAF's semifinal round of qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Also in Group C is Trinidad & Tobago, along with the winners of St. Vincent and the Grenadines/Aruba and Antigua and Barbuda/Guatemala.

Qualifying begins in November.