The United States men's national team goes up against Panama in tonight's 2011 Gold Cup Group C match at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The game starts around 8:00pm and will be the second game of a doubleheader, preceded by Guadeloupe and Canada at 6:00pm. The U.S. game can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel and on Telefutura in Spanish.
The U.S. squad won their first game in group play on Tuesday night, beating Canada 2-0 in Detroit's Ford Field. Jozy Altidore scored in the 15th minute as part of an early American surge, and Clint Dempsey added a 61st-minute tally to stem some Canadian momentum in the second half. Tim Howard made a couple of outstanding saves in the last 15 to preserve the clean sheet, and Michael Bradley also had a strong game as he created several chances that were turned away by the Canadian defense.
Panama opened group play on Tuesday by beating Guadeloupe 3-2, and the winner of this match should be well on their way to finishing at the top of Group C. This is the fourth straight Gold Cup in which the U.S. and Panama have played -- the Americans won the 2005 Gold Cup by beating Panama on penalties after a scoreless match, and also eliminated them in the 2007 and 2009 quarterfinals.
The U.S. team has never lost a match in Gold Cup group play, winning 24 and drawing two. They can advance to the quarterfinals with a win and with a draw in the Canada-Guadeloupe match.
Tickets are available at the Raymond James Stadium box office on the south end of the stadium. If you need tickets or want to pick yours up from will call, U.S. Soccer suggests arriving early and beating the lines that will form before the game.