Blas Perez and Panama had to get a result on Monday night against the United States if they wanted to have any hope of advancing to the knockout round of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup with two points from their first two matches.
Having been held quiet through the first two matches, Perez had his best game of the three group stage matches on Monday night scoring a goal and drawing two yellow cards against the United States defense in a 1-1 draw at Sporting Park.
The goal, Perez's 11th all-time in CONCACAF Gold Cup play, leaves him just one behind Mexican forward Luis Roberto Alves for second all-time on the Gold Cup scoring charts. Now 34 years old, it's possible that this could be Perez's last Gold Cup and he will have another chance to tie for 2nd place if Panama advances to the knockout round.
Panama will advance as one of the two-highest third place teams unless Costa Rica earns a win or a draw against Canada, El Salvador beats Jamaica or gets at least a 3-3 draw, and Guatemala defeats Cuba. Should they advance a quarterfinal against CONCACAF giants Mexico is a likely matchup.
