USA - Panama: Americans Get a Pleasant Surprise in the Semi-finals (Gold Cup)

The United States battled with Panama in the semi-finals and got a positive effort from subsitutes Landon Donovan and Freddy Adu in the 1-0 victory.

Adu, who has seen limited time with the U.S national team, started an attack that involved finding Donovan who delivered a perfect cross to Clint Dempsey, who touched the ball into the goal to give the Americans the win. The victory sends the U.S. to the final to play the winner of Mexico and Honduras at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Dempsey's shot came in the 76th minute as the U.S. was mounting a real effort to score after several failed opportunities to get a shot off. Prior to the goal, the best chance the U.S. had came in the first half when Juan Agudelo's header hit the post.

The second half involved much more attacking, after a stagnant first half for both teams.

Bob Bradley received a major energy boost with the additions of subs Adu and Donovan. The U.S. attack failed to garner many real goal-scoring chances in the first half, and the efforts from the substitutes changed the tempo of the game.

Adu, in particular, looked sharp. The U.S. attack needed more creativity, and Adu's passing skills played a major role in giving the Yanks more chances.

Panama barely mustered much offense for most of the game, aside from a desperation surge in the final minutes. The loss ends a fine run for the Central American team, who had previously beaten the U.S. in the first round.

The upcoming match at the Rose Bowl is sold out in a possible anticipation of a U.S.- Mexico showdown.