Panama v United States: Group A winners not resting on their laurels

Jurgen Klinsmann insists United States still have plenty to play for against Panama in their final Group A fixture on Monday.

Defending champions USA claimed top spot with a match to spare after overcoming a spirited Haiti outfit 1-0 in Foxborough on Friday.

In-form forward Clint Dempsey was the hero again for USA, who failed to impress.

USA – in the midst of a six-game winning streak – will now face the third-placed team from either Group B or C for a spot in the semi-finals.

But Klinsmann is not looking too far ahead, instead calling for an improved performance from the tournament hosts at Sporting Park in Kansas City.

“The approach is picking up more rhythm, going for another three points, and finishing off the group with three wins,” the German told reporters.

“We take that very seriously. We also know we have influence on who is going through, so we are not taking our foot off the pedal there. We will give it a very good game and keep on building confidence and fine tuning elements and improve our game.

“As you saw there was still some stuff that was not so good, so we keep working on that. It’s a nice feeling knowing we are already first, but it doesn’t mean that we are slowing down now. It should be the opposite – we’ve got to keep raising the bar.”

USA captain Michael Bradley and Dempsey completed another 90 minutes and the star pair could be rested against Panama, with Klinsmann reluctant to burn the players out so early in the tournament.

While Bradley and Dempsey could watch from the sidelines, midfielder Gyasi Zardes is expected to be rewarded with a starting berth following his match-winning impact against Haiti.

Zardes came off the bench in the second half and set-up Dempsey for the decisive goal in the 47th minute.

Panama, who will be without suspended defender Luis Henriquez, head into the match in second position and with plenty on the line.

Hernan Dario Gomez’s Panama are a point clear of Honduras and Haiti with two points after playing out a 1-1 draw against the Hondurans on Friday.

Luis Tejada’s 21st-minute opener was cancelled out by Honduras’ Andy Najar with nine minutes remaining at Gillette Stadium.