Value of U.S. playing in Central America

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Don Emmert/AFP/Getty ImagesThough the U.S. beat Panama 1-0 in last June's Gold Cup semifinals, "Los Canaleros" proved obdurate opponents. The U.S. is 1-0-1 in Panama.

Every four years, the United States' road to the World Cup leads through Central America, where the taunting crowds and pesky, technically gifted home teams combine to make for unspeakably difficult conditions. It was in one such game -- in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Oct. 10, 2009, where Los Catrachos had been undefeated in more than six years -- that the U.S. secured its berth for South Africa in the summer of 2010. That night, Conor Casey bulled his way to the only two goals he will likely ever score for the U.S., transforming an 0-1 deficit into a lead and allowing the U.S. to escape with a 3-2 win in a physical, nerve-shredding game.

This is the sort of environment Jurgen Klinsmann hopes to dump his national team understudies into Wednesday, traveling to Panama City for a friendly with Los Canaleros (watch on ESPN3, 8.30 p.m. ET).

"Those are the games we need to play," Klinsmann said. "We need to have our experiences and also our struggles in games, with referee decisions -- whatever happens on the field -- and learn to go through that and deal with that kind of stress."

Many of the national team regulars have lived through this ordeal many times over, of course, but of the squad called in for the usual January camp for U.S.-based players -- joined this year by Germany-based midfielders Ricardo Clark and Jermaine Jones and Denmark-based defender Michael Parkhurst -- only Clark, Heath Pearce and Benny Feilhaber have played in a World Cup qualifier in Central America or Mexico before.

Klinsmann's thought process is simple: Though he's looking at Wednesday's roster with a view to filling out an as-yet ill-defined depth chart (and eventually create competition for starting jobs), if they're to stand a chance at making minutes in the 17-month qualifying marathon the U.S. will embark upon in June, exposure to hostile conditions in Central America will be crucial.

"The environments that you go into are very difficult to replicate and without a doubt very difficult to perform in, regardless of your preparation," ESPN analyst Alexi Lalas said. "So any opportunity that Jurgen has to take players into even a fraction of that type of environment is beneficial. A young phenom may have exhibited all the skills and tools of a great soccer player, but that doesn't amount to beans once you're put in that kind of environment. Only once you've been through it do you know what to expect."

The game will also give Klinsmann a closer look at a potential foe down the road. "Panama is a team that we're going to potentially face in the World Cup qualifying stage," he said. "Especially away from home, to play them with their physicality, with their way of winning things, again it's another learning experience for all of us."

This will be the first time the U.S. faces Panama in a friendly, but the sides became well-acquainted during the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, when Los Canaleros handed the U.S. its first ever group-stage loss, winning 2-1 on a Luis Tejada goal and Gabriel Gomez penalty after Tim Ream took down Blas Perez in the box. In the semifinals, the U.S. played Panama once more, squeezing by with a 1-0 win courtesy of a moment of inspiration from Freddy Adu and Landon Donovan, who combined to set up Clint Dempsey's winner in the 76th minute.

Of that Gold Cup team, the backbone -- goalkeeper Luis Mejia, defender Carlos Rodriguez, midfielder Gomez and forwards Perez and Luis Renteria -- will play Wednesday, complemented by a young corps of domestically based players. Together, they are almost sure to throw up more resistance than Venezuela did in the U.S.'s last-gasp 97th-minute 1-0 on Saturday in Glendale, Ariz., during which the U.S. resoundingly outplayed its opponents. Panama will be just as physical and happy to sit back, but unlike Venezuela, the Canaleros will attack with venom and precision, likely putting the U.S. defense under considerably more pressure.

In this tougher test, the U.S. will try to build on its good work at the weekend, when it acquitted itself well, following Klinsmann's commandments of a quick pace, high pressure and a proactive mindset. But there are strides left to be made. Far too many simple passes went astray, and on a few occasions the U.S. just plain passed it straight to its opponents in the attacking third. The flanks, meanwhile, were underused, as Brek Shea suffered through an off night on the left -- save for two good chances -- and Graham Zusi pinched too far inside on the right. Finally, the U.S. lacked sharpness in the final third, where it often had trouble connecting passes through the traffic and was wasteful with chances when the ball did arrive. These defects will need to be addressed.

As for Klinsmann himself, he will face his own trial by fire south of the border, but if the script calls for him to be intimidated, he is clearly ad-libbing. "I'd love to play those games every three or four days, but then there's a club season," he said with a wink.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at leander.espn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderESPN.

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Leander Schaerlaeckens

Contributing writer, ESPN.com

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Leander Schaerlaeckens is a contributing writer for ESPN.com. He has previously written for The Guardian, The Washington Times and UPI.