USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino was visibly frustrated following his team's 1-0 defeat at home to Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semi-final on Thursday.

Cecilio Waterman netted the winning goal in the 94th minute to send the visitors through and break home fans' hearts at SoFi Stadium, with the hosts putting in a stale performance.

"We are USA. You cannot win with your shirt, or you cannot win if you play here, there or I don't know. You need to show, and you need to come here and be better and suffer and win the duels and work hard," said Pochettino after the game.

"If not, it's not going to be enough."

The USA had two thirds of the ball, but generated just 0.68 xG from their five shots on target during the match, with just one of those coming in the first half.

The hosts struggle to get any foothold in the game from an attacking perspective and it was that, which disappointed Pochettino.

"The way that we approach the game and start the game wasn't in the right way," he said.

"That is why I feel so disappointed, and we all feel disappointed. I think in the first half, we played too slow, so comfortable on the pitch. We didn't show aggression with the ball."

Visitors Panama were comfortable allowing USA the ball, having had little of note to defend.

Their winning goal, meanwhile, came from their only shot on target of the entire match.

37-166 - At 37 years, 166 days old, Tim Ream is the oldest outfield player to start a competitive match for the #USMNT since Fernando Clavijo in the Round of 16 of the 1994 FIFA World Cup (38 years, 162 days). Timeless. pic.twitter.com/G6LCJAShlZ

— OptaJack (@OptaJack) March 20, 2025

"We never expect to concede in this moment," said Pochettino.

"That is the truth, but [I] agree. We were thinking to give option to play Gio [Reyna] and Diego [Luna[, but for sure they're going to have the opportunity [next match]."

"If you don't have aggression, it's impossible because the opponent, [they] know that we are going to play into the feet. You are going to play safe, you are not going to take risk.

"If you want to play football, you need to take risks, you need to go forward, you need to win duels, sometime 50-50. That is my goal."

USA captain Tim Ream was in agreement with his coach's assessment of the game, on the day he became the oldest outfield player to start a competitive match for his country since the 1994 World Cup.

The 37-year-old echoed the frustration from all corners, having conceded with the only chance of note that the defence had to deal with.

“One shot on target, one goal,” he said.

“We tried and tried and tried and obviously didn't get our own goal. They sat back and we struggled to break them down and get in behind and get a lot of clear chances.

"We still had enough to win the game, but they're a tough opponent when they sit everybody behind the ball … and for us, we didn’t find a way to break it down.”