The United States Men’s National Team endured a shock 1-0 defeat to Panama in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal, with Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers left on the bench and his club teammate Auston Trusty already ruled out through injury.
Trusty, who missed the Glasgow Derby due to a calf complaint, also had to withdraw from the international squad, leaving Carter-Vickers as the only Celtic representative in the squad. Despite his experience and solid domestic form, the centre-back was an unused substitute during the match.
Final. We’ll play either Canada or Mexico on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/j9s8a0o9qr
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) March 21, 2025
The Americans were heavy favourites going into the semi-final but failed to convert dominance into goals. Panama struck a decisive blow in stoppage time to seal a historic victory. For the USA, it was a dismal showing, both in terms of the result and performance, and one that raises questions about the direction of the squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The result means Carter-Vickers and the USMNT now drop into the third-place play-off, where they will face Canada and fellow Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston. Johnston, who has also been in solid form for club and country, will no doubt be looking to help Canada bounce back after their own defeat to Mexico in the other semi-final.
Kick-off on Sunday is at 10 pm Celtic Park Time.
I am going to go against the grain here and question people’s opinions on Cameron Carter Vickers. CCV is a good player but for the most part he hasn’t been the rock that he’s portrayed to be, his limitations have been cruelly brought to light in his shaky performances of late. Looking at Sunday’s match against TheRangers you’d have thought that it was CCV and not Maik Nawrocki that had only had limited time on the pitch this season. Maik was far more assured and was one of only a few that got anywhere near pass marks, he deserves a run in the team. 9 goals conceded over 3 matches hardly shouts ‘rock solid’.