While a comprehensive win had been evading the US going into last night, it certainly wasn't at the end of the night, as the Americans resoundingly registered one of their best performances in a meaningful game for quite some time. Indeed, the widely bandied concept of "peaking at the right time" seems apt here, as memories of the overwhelmingly poor performance at Honduras at the opening of this final round of qualifying are surely beginning to subside.
At the very core of such a quality win were several praiseworthy performances to be mentioned. Likewise, there are still of couple of questions to entertain in advance of the game against Honduras next week.
The American striker crisis may just be over. With Jozy Altidore tallying yet again and Eddie Johnson adding a decisive second goal, American fans can begin to dream of the conclusion of what has been a long-running dilemma for the US: a lack of consistency from their strikers.
Altidore's sublime volley against Germany seemed to have been the catalyst he needed to finally begin to duplicate the form he has shown in recent seasons with AZ Alkmaar, and, in direct contrast to the profligacy he had shown in a US shirt from 2011 on, his goal scoring as displayed in now three consecutive games has been absolutely enticing.
Though a lot of credit should go to Fabian Johnson for delivering as exquisite of a low cross as you will see to set the table for Altidore's goal against Panama, Altidore also did his part in reading the play well and making a run that put him at the far post at just the right moment. He finished coolly when a striker lacking in confidence might have squandered the chance in one way or another.
Against Panama, Eddie Johnson was theoretically deployed on the right wing in the absence of Graham Zusi, but it was clear that he was given the freedom to cut in and get goalside as necessary. Like Altidore, he took advantage of this freedom by making a well-timed run that Geoff Cameron so alertly spotted before delivering a quality long ball that Johnson could make no mistake with. For a guy who had been lost in something of a European wilderness only a couple of years ago, Johnson is showing, both with Seattle and with the US, that he's in the midst of a renaissance.
Geoff Cameron redeemed himself in midfield. Though Geoff Cameron found himself playing at right back for the bulk of the season at Stoke, he looked like a fish out of water there against Belgium. Accordingly, Klinsmann dropped him for the Germany game in favor of Brad Evans, and Cameron only reappeared in a defensive midfield spot against Jamaica when Jermaine Jones suffered a concussion in the second half.
With Jones out against Panama, Cameron played a near flawless ninety minutes in Jones' place, with only a couple of early errant passes blemishing his performance. His duties of sitting in front of the back four were straightforward enough, but in doing all that was asked for him, Michael Bradley had little else to worry about outside of getting forward and being a fulcrum of the attack. Cameron's inch-perfect delivery on Eddie Johnson's game was simply a cherry on top.
Given my leeriness of concussions, I would hope that Klinsmann gives Jones another game off and utilizes Cameron again in defensive midfield against Honduras. He at least deserves another start there after such yeoman's work against Panama.
Brad Evans had his first bit of trouble at right back. We all know that Brad Evans is not a right back by trade, but his performances there against Germany and Jamaica were as solid and as stabilizing as anyone could have hoped for.
Contrastingly, Panama seemed to be the first team to exploit the Seattle man playing out of position, as there was space to be found behind him on a few occasions during the game. Despite this, he often recovered well enough, and his outing was hardly so bad that he wouldn't start again against Honduras.
Predictably, selection questions abound for the Honduras game. Several US players came into the Panama game having already picked up a yellow card in this round of qualifying, so it seemed almost certain that one of them might pick up a second yellow against Panama that would result in a suspension for the Honduras game. DaMarcus Beasley's late booking meant that he would ultimately be the one to sit the next game out.
Beasley's one game ban is unfortunate, as he has rather surprisingly placed an iron grip on the left back spot in recent games. A back line that looked almost flawless against Panama will now, untimely enough, be forced into something of a rearrangement. Will Fabian Johnson slide back there from the left wing spot from which he has been so dangerous, or might Edgar Castillo be plugged in as a straight swap? We likely won't know until next Tuesday before kickoff.
Graham Zusi will be returning from his own yellow card suspension, so look for him to displace Eddie Johnson on the right. If Fabian Johnson plays at left back against Honduras, Klinsmann may again use Eddie Johnson out wide, this time on the left, but once again with the freedom to join Altidore up top at various intervals.
If next week's performance against Honduras even somewhat mirrors what we saw in Seattle against Panama, there would be plenty of reason to believe that this American side is finally moving on past the chopping and changing we've seen during Klinsmann's time in charge, and in turn some semblance of identity, replete with a solid defensive partnership of Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler and some crisp, incisive passing, is taking shape. With World Cup qualifying reaching its stretch run and next summer just beginning to appear on the horizon, the timing couldn't be any better for such an evolution.
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