ARLINGTON, Texas—One team stands between the United States and Gold Cup glory, and it’s not Mexico.

Panama has crashed CONCACAF’s party this year, just as it did in 2005. Or has it?

“No, because it’s our party now. We’re not crashing anybody’s party,” Panama manger Julio Dely Valdes said after the match. “If we crashed the organization’s party…I’m sorry,” he later said, shrugging.

Invited or unwelcome, Panama is into the final now, and it's the team Jurgen Klinsmann is scouting in preparation for Sunday’s final. He knows Panama has given the U.S. some trouble in Gold Cups past.

The 2005 final was a nail-biter that Dely Valdes remembers well. The match finished scoreless after extra time and went into penalties. Kasey Keller saved Luis Tejada’s first attempt while the second Panama kick, from the foot of Dely Valdes’ twin brother Jorge, hit the woodwork. Chris Armas took his kick poorly and popped it straight to the keeper, but Landon Donovan converted and Brad Davis ended it after an Alberto Blanco miss.

In Bob Bradley’s last tournament as U.S. manager, Panama upset the Stars and Stripes in the group stage before falling to the U.S. in a semifinal rematch. In that contest, Freddy Adu—remember him?—started an attack that ended with Dononvan feeding Clint Dempsey for a far-side tap-in winner.

With these past difficulties in mind, Klinsmann is reminding his current set of players that the final is prestigious no matter the opponent.

“This is the region where you want to prove to everyone that you deserve to win this title, so it’s going to be huge,” Klinsmann said. “I told the players to take it all in, to enjoy these moments where you play in Baltimore in front of 70,000, here (in Texas) in front of 80,000, and now in Chicago in front of…I don’t know how many people it fits, maybe 75, 80 at Soldier Field.”

The U.S. won’t have to contend with a crowd decked out in green, but it will face a Panama team that is in good form despite its struggles to qualify for the first World Cup in the country’s history. Los Caneleros have several veterans bolstering Dely Valdes’ 4-4-2, with captain Roman Torres controlling the back line and keeper Jaime Penedo in net. Unlike semifinal foe Honduras, Panama also has attacking threats in Gaby Torres, the tournament’s joint top scorer and a Colorado Rapids transfer target, and FC Dallas striker Blas Perez.

With veterans throughout the lineup, it's debatable whether Panama presents a more formidable threat than El Tri. Most teams don’t end up contending for a trophy by accident.

“A final’s a final. You can’t say somebody’s the favorite or not a favorite. It’s a one-off. Anyone can win,” U.S. defender Clarence Goodson said after beating Honduras. “You’ve got to show up, you’ve got to play football on that day. You have no excuses from anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best or the worst or whatever—you’re in the final for a reason.”

While it’s been just more than a month since the U.S. easily dispensed of Panama’s best, 2-0, in a World Cup qualifier, Panama comes in with confidence. Their manager said familiarity with the Americans will help his preparation for the final.

“We have something to reference with all the players they’ve brought to Gold Cup,” Dely Valdes said. “With that frame of reference that we have and the matches they’ve played in this competition, we’ll be able to more or less take them on, and it’s going to be a good game.”

Jon Arnold is an ASN contributing editor. Follow him on Twitter.