USMNT vs. Panama: World Cup qualifying match time, TV, live stream

The USMNT will host Panama on Friday night in Orlando, Florida in what is a must-win World Cup qualifying match for both sides.

The USMNT faces a must-win game on Friday night as Panama comes stateside for a World Cup Qualifying match. The United States sits fourth in the standings in the fifth and final round of qualifying that comprises a six-team double round robin. At the end of the round, the top three teams will qualify for the World Cup while the fourth-place team will be forced to square off against the fifth-place team in the Asian Confederation for a final spot in the field.

The United States trail Panama in the standings by one point for the third and final CONCACAF direct qualification spot (Mexico have already qualified and Costa Rica need a single point to do so as well). A win would put the USMNT on the cusp of qualification while a loss would put them in a somewhat precarious position.

A loss against Panama on Friday night would eliminate the possibility of the United States qualifying for the World Cup directly and their hopes would be pinned on staving off Honduras (who are currently tied with the United States at nine points but lose out on tiebreakers) and winning the inter-confederation playoff against the Asian fifth-place finisher.

Panama will also be viewing the game as a must-win. A victory for the Panamanians would all but clinch their nation’s first World Cup berth. They’d have to wait out the results of Honduras’ final matches, but they’ll be underdogs against both Mexico and Costa Rica.

The United States need six points in these final two matches to secure their own World Cup berth (that’s wins vs. both Panama and Trinidad & Tobago), but, in practice, a draw against Trinidad & Tobago should be enough to do the job so long as they beat Panama on Friday.

World Cup Qualifying: United States vs. Panama

Orlando City Stadium – Orlando, Florida
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy

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The United States will travel to Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday for their final match of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.