KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Say this for Ventura Alvarado: He has more than enough character to step up and admit a mistake.

The 22-year-old Club America defender got exposed badly in the first half of last night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup match between the United States and Panama, getting burned-and-turned by Luis Tejada on the sequence that led to Panama’s go-ahead goal.

It was the second time in as many Gold Cup games that Alvarado was at fault on an opposing goal, having been faked out badly in the 2-1 win over Honduras last week. 

But unlike some of his U.S. teammates who duck the media after an iffy game—looking at you, John Brooks—Alvarado stepped up, faced the grilling that came his way, and accepted responsibility.

“In the first half I felt real bad," Alvarado told reporters after the match. "I was real bad. Mentally I got mad at myself, and I just thought, 'I’m going to give my all. I’ve got nothing to lose,' and I felt better.

"It wasn’t a great game for me, but I’ve got to keep my head up.”

The way Alvarado handled the adversity is a big part of what head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is watching as he charts the progress of a player who has gone from a seldom-used reserve to a starter on a team that won Mexican and CONCACAF titles. Ventura's success with Club America led to the Arizona native’s first cap in March and his ascent has been fairly smooth—until the last two matches.

The perpetually upbeat—at least in public—Klinsmann chose not to focus on the gaffe Alvarado committed but how he and center back partner Brooks, who lost his mark on the Panama goal, responded after a poor half. 

“The only way for younger players to mature, get better, and get stronger is to grow into these games and have these experiences," Klinsmann said. "Both Ventura and also John, they grew with every minute. There were some situations that were a bit shaky in the first half. In the second half, they cleaned it up.

"They were absolutely on top of things. It was, here and there, very difficult for them. The longer the game went on, the more personality developed and the stronger they became. This is exactly the growing path that we want to see from these two young center backs.”

Alvarado said putting a mistake behind him during a game is one of the more challenging things for a defender.

“Mentally it’s hard, and maybe I haven’t always been good at it,” he said. “But with experience, you learn a mistake doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. Every team gives up goals. You have to keep staying focused and keep your head in the game (because) you don’t want to make more mistakes and hurt your team more.”

Klinsmann shared a story from his time coaching the German national team—a tale that may just resonate with U.S. fans.

“I remember when I was taking over Germany in 2004 I had a 19-year-old Per Mertsacker and I think I gave him his debut in front of 120,000 in Tehran, (Iran). And he was a little bit shaky and we know now where he is and what he did the last 10 years,” Klinsmann said of the Arsenal star center back who won a World Cup with Germany. 

"So what we do, we read the potential of players and then hope to help them reach that potential one day. But at the end of the day it’s them that have to do it and they have to understand you’re going to go through difficult moments and figure that out.

"But it’s not going to be prefect. There’s no way it’s going to be a perfect run in this Gold Cup. It’s going to be a very tough competition.”

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.