How far the United States Men's National Team has come since January 25, 2012, the last time the Yanks played Panama. Back then, nearly 18 months ago, the U.S. hadn't yet gone to Italy or Mexico and won. Graham Zusi was far from established on the right wing, earning only his second cap for the national team. Landon Donovan was still the better part of a year away from embarking on his walkabout.
That night down in Panama City, we saw Zusi score his first goal in a Yanks shirt, finding the net for the game's only goal in the 8th minute. The win capped a tougher than usual set of January friendlies and led straight into the USA's famous trip to Genoa just over a month later.
The Red White & Blue take on Panama again - with much higher stakes - tomorrow night in Seattle for each team's fifth match in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying (a/k/a the midpoint of the Hexagonal). Stay tuned, because we'll have our usual coverage here at B&RU and around SB Nation.