U.S. Beats Panama, 2-0, to Earn Trip to Holland

Firing Sigi Schmid was the best thing the Galaxy did last year -- not for Schmid, but for the U.S. under-20 national soccer team.

Schmid, unexpectedly available to take on a new challenge, was named the team’s coach in October, and on Friday night at the Home Depot Center he watched his players beat Panama, 2-0, to qualify for the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands in June.

Earlier, Costa Rica put itself on the verge of qualification with a 2-1 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

The nightcap, a dull affair for the first 45 minutes, sparked to life in the second half. First, U.S. forward Freddy Adu scored the vital opening goal on a penalty kick. Then, Panama’s captain, Armando Gun, was ejected for intentionally kicking fallen U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber in the 83rd minute. Finally, U.S. forward Jacob Peterson applied the coup de grace two minutes from the end.

“I like tulips, I like [the color] orange, Amsterdam’s a nice city,” Schmid said.

“I’m very proud of our team. I think we ran into a team that was very well-organized, that played very defensively in the first half, so it took us a little while to break them down.”

After a dour struggle, the breakthrough came in the 55th minute, when Adu, the youngest player on the field at 15, scored his second penalty kick goal in as many matches.

The foul occurred when Panama defender Jose Venegas chopped down U.S. winger Will John well inside the penalty area after John had taken a deep throw-in from forward Chad Barrett. Adu’s subsequent effort from 12 yards flew high to goalkeeper Jose Calderon’s left to give the U.S. the lead.

Adu was then hit in the 59th minute by defender Roman Torres, but although the tackle occurred in the penalty area, referee Ruben Castellanos of Guatemala saw no foul and the U.S. was denied what could have been a second penalty kick.

A more questionable call was to follow.

It came when Barrett passed to Adu on a fastbreak and Adu steered the ball past goalkeeper Calderon, only to be ruled offside. Replays suggested that it was again an incorrect call because Adu appeared to be level with the last defender when he received Barrett’s pass.

The match turned ugly near the end when Feilhaber was felled by Gun, who then appeared to back-heel Feilhaber while the UCLA player was lying on the ground. Gun’s ejection sparked a brief brouhaha before calm was restored.

“Benny was definitely hurt because he got stepped on,” Schmid said.

In the night’s first match, Trinidad and Tobago, coming off a 6-1 loss to the U.S., fared slightly better against Costa Rica but still was beaten, 2-1, and eliminated from contention in the four-team tournament.

The Ticos, who had tied Panama, 1-1, in their first game, built a 2-0 lead on goals by Franklin Chacon in the eighth minute and Alonso Salazar in the 62nd, but failed to put the game away and had to endure some nervous moments after Trinidad and Tobago cut their lead in half on a goal by Kendall Jagdeoshingh five minutes from the end.

The tournament ends with a doubleheader starting at noon on Sunday, when Costa Rica and Panama will battle to join the U.S. in Holland by earning the second qualifying place.

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Under-20 Qualifying

Results, schedule for CONCACAF qualifying for Under-20 world championship, at Home Depot Center:

* Wednesday: Costa Rica 1, Panama 1; U.S. 6, Trinidad & Tobago 1

* Friday: Costa Rica 2, Trinidad & Tobago 1; U.S. 2, Panama 0

* Standings: U.S. 2-0-0, 6 points; Costa Rica 1-0-1, 4; Panama 0-1-1, 1; Trinidad & Tobago 0-2-0 0 (U.S. has clinched a berth in the Under-20 world championship).

* Sunday: Panama vs. Trinidad & Tobago, noon; U.S. vs. Costa Rica, 2:30 p.m.