The U.S. men’s national soccer team will look to build off the momentum of its Copa America opening win over Bolivia on Sunday when it faces Concacaf adversary Panama on Thursday.
Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun each scored goals in Sunday’s victory, in which the USMNT dominated and could have enjoyed a much larger margin of victory.
The U.S. should expect a motivated Panama team — which lost in its Copa America opener 3-1 to Uruguay — in its next group match. The two sides are very familiar with each other, with the USMNT owning a 17-2-7 all-time advantage. However, Panama won the most recent encounter, a 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal victory in a penalty shootout.
Opening with a win on Sunday was big for the USMNT, which also will want a result against Panama before facing CONMEBOL powerhouse Uruguay in the group finale on July 1.
Here’s everything you need to know for Thursday’s Copa America match:
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 27.
The USMNT-Panama Copa America 2024 game will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, regular home stadium for Major League Soccer‘s Atlanta United and the NFL‘s Atlanta Falcons. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is among the 11 United States-based venues that will host games for the 2026 World Cup.
The television broadcast will be available on FOX, with pregame coverage starting at 5 p.m. ET. John Strong (play-by-play), Stu Holden (analyst), Ana Jurka (sideline reporter) and Dr. Joe Machnik (rules analyst) will provide coverage for FOX Sports.
The Spanish-language television broadcast available on Univision/TUDN.
The match will stream on FOX Sports. Vix will provide a streaming option for Spanish-language broadcasts. Streaming also available on Fubo.
Goalkeepers (3): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/Wales), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/Canada), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/England)
Defenders (9): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/Scotland), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/Italy), Mark McKenzie (Genk/Belgium), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Tim Ream (Fulham/England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/England), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/England), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/Germany)
Midfielders (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/England), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/Spain), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/Spain), Weston McKennie (Juventus/Italy), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; Italy), Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest/England), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/Netherlands)
Forwards (7): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/Germany), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/France), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/Italy), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/England), Tim Weah (Juventus/Italy), Haji Wright (Coventry City/England)
Goalkeepers (3): Luis Mejía (Nacional/Uruguay), César Samudio (Marathón/Honduras), Orlando Mosquera (Maccabi Tel Aviv/Israel)
Defenders (9): Eric Davis (Košice/Slovakia), José Córdoba (Norwich City/England) César Blackman (Slovan Bratislava/Slovakia), Michael Amir Murillo (Marseille/France), Roderick Miller (Turan Tovuz/Azerbaijan), Iván Anderson (Fortaleza C.E.I.F./Colombia), Eduardo Anderson (Saprissa/Costa Rica), Edgardo Fariña (Municipal/Guatemala), Omar Valencia (New York Red Bulls II/USA)
Midfielders (10): Yoel Bárcenas (Mazatlán/Mexico), Adalberto Carrasquilla (Houston Dynamo/USA), José Luis Rodríguez (Red Star Belgrade/Serbia), César Yanis (San Carlos/Costa Rica), Abdiel Ayarza (Cienciano/ Peru), Cristian Martínez (Al-Jandal/Saudi Arabia), Freddy Góndola (Maccabi Bnei Reineh/Israel), Jovani Welch (Académico de Viseu/Portugal), Carlos Harvey (Minnesota United/USA), Kahiser Lenis (Jaguares/Colombia)
Forwards (3): Eduardo Guerrero (Zorya Luhansk/Ukraine), Ismael Díaz (Universidad Católica/Ecuador), José Fajardo (Universidad Católica/Ecuador)
The USMNT will play in Group C of Copa America 2024 against Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay.
➤ Sunday, June 23: USA 2, Bolivia 1
➤ Thursday, June 27: Panama vs. USA in Atlanta, 6 p.m. ET (FOX)
➤ Monday, July 1: USA vs. Uruguay in Kansas City, Missouri, 9 p.m. ET (FOX)
CONMEBOL Copa América, or the American cup, is the world’s oldest running continental tournament, dating to 1916. It is used to determine the champion of South America, but select teams from North America and Asia have been invited to compete since the 1990s. This year, the 10 CONMEBOL teams will be joined by six Concacaf teams.
This summer’s edition will be the 48th tournament and only the second time it has ever been held outside of South America. The United States also hosted Copa América Centenario in 2016, a special edition of the tournament to commemorate 100 years of CONMEBOL and Copa América.
The tournament is now held every four years, coinciding with the UEFA European Championship. Defending champions Argentina and Uruguay have won Copa América 15 times each, most of any country followed by Brazil (nine, last in 2019).
— Safid Deen
The Copa América is the oldest and longest-running continental soccer competition, crowning the South American men’s champion.
Of its 47 previous editions, all but one have been held in South America. Just like it did in 2016, the United States will serve as the host for a special edition of the Copa América.
There are two big reasons why the tournament is being held in the U.S. in 2024.
—Seth Vertelney,Pro Soccer Wire
The tournament will be held in 14 cities across the U.S., with each location hosting two or three matches over a 25-day period. The opening match is Thursday in Atlanta and the final is July 14 in Miami. The third-place match will be in Charlotte on July 13.
Matches will also be played at stadiums in Arizona (Glendale), California (Santa Clara and Inglewood), Florida (Orlando and Miami), Kansas and Missouri (in Kansas City), Nevada (Las Vegas), New Jersey (East Rutherford) and Texas (Arlington, Austin and Houston).
These are the stadiums hosting Copa America 2024 games:
In all, there are 41 Major League Soccer players on rosters for Copa America teams.
Of the league’s 29 teams, 21 will be represented in the tournament. Minnesota United FC and CF Montréal lead with the most players on Copa America rosters with four apiece. Canada has the most MLS players with 14.
Argentina
Canada
Costa Rica
Ecuador
Jamaica
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Launching all New Sports News Portal. Advert
