Panama is going to the World Cup and the United States is not, all because of Roman Torres. The Seattle Sounders center back scored an 88th minute goal to give Panama a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica to secure their spot in the World Cup for the first time ever. Combined with the United States’ 2-1 loss to Trinidad & Tobago and Honduras’ come-from-behind 3-2 win over Mexico, that means the USA is out of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Panama’s decisive goal came with Torres playing high up the field, something we’ve become accustomed to seeing him do for both club and country.