CHESTER, Pa.—In a game that neither team wanted to be playing in, the United States and Panama slogged through 120 minutes of lackluster play before Panama emerged on penalty kicks in the third-place game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. 

The tie-breaker followed a 1-1 draw and saw the final three U.S. shooters, Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, and DaMarcus Beasley, who was playing his final international game, all fail to convert while Panama’s shooters beat Brad Guzan on three of their four attempts.

For the U.S. national team, the fourth-place finish marks its worst showing in a Gold Cup since falling on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the 2000 tournament. The poor showing calls into question what progress, if any, the U.S. has made since Jurgen Klinsmann took over as national team boss four years ago. 

Klinsmann was hired in the summer of 2011 after the U.S. finished second to Mexico in the Gold Cup—which prompted U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati to fire Bob Bradley. 

Klinsmann guided the U.S. to this tournament’s championship two years ago but this year the team struggled against CONCACAF teams it was expected to beat—especially playing at home. The U.S. eked out one-goal wins over Honduras and Haiti before having to rally to tie Panama in the group stage.  

Then, after dominating hapless Cuba a week ago, the Americans fell to Jamaica, 2-1, in the semifinals before losing to Panama Saturday. While the game technically counts as a tie, it marks the first time in 13 Gold Cups that the U.S. has played two consecutive games without a win.

This was the third time the U.S. has played in the Gold Cup’s consolation game, having finished in third with wins over Guatemala in 1996 and Costa Rica in 2003.

Onjce again, a problem for the U.S. was in central defense.

Klinsmann will tell anyone who asks that John Brooks is currently the most talented central defender in the U.S. national team pool. And when the 22-year-old center back is dialed in and focused, it's easy to see why Klinsmann believes this to be true.

After all, Brooks is six-foot-four, fast enough to have played left back as a youth player, passes well out of the back, and is a veteran of the German Bundesliga. Brooks has already scored in a World Cup and on paper, at least, he has all the ingredients of an elite center back. 

But for all his gifts, too often Brooks loses focus in games and it tends to cost the U.S. When these two teams met in the group stage, Brooks lost his mark, FC Dallas striker Blas Perez, and Panama’s most dangerous forward easily scored for a 1-0 lead. 

In Wednesday’s upset loss to Jamaica, Brooks was caught ball-watching and was slow to recognize a long throw-in to the box. His mark, Darren Mattocks, scored a header that gave the Reggae Boyz a 1-0 lead.

On Saturday, he was again slow to read a play, leading to Panama’s goal. In the 55th minute, Roberto Nurse got a step on Tim Ream and charged down the left slot towards goal. With Ream, who arguably could have done more, Brooks slid over too late and Nurse easily rounded him and beat Guzan to make it 1-0.

The Yanks fought back, but it wasn't enough.

In the 70th minute, Bradley found substitute DeAndre Yedlin making a slashing run from the right side of midfield. Yedlin brought the ball down with his chest, fought off a defender, and alertly found a wide open Clint Dempsey at the edge of the 18. Dempsey curled a composed finished that just caught the inside of the near-post to make it 1-1.

It was Dempsey's seventh goal of the tournament, virtually assuring him of the Golden Ball, and the 48th of his national-team career. The Texas native is now nine behind all-time U.S. scorer Landon Donovan.