AP

José Hernández

After the elimination of Mexico, the United States became the favorite to obtain its third championship of the Concacaf region. The 2005 Gold Cup marked Panama¿s second participation and its first time advancing to the second round of the tournament, and now the three-million inhabitants hope the Panamamian Cinderella story will not be spoiled in its first final ever.

"We¿re trying to approach this as normally as possible", said José Hernández, coach of Panama. "We got tot the Final. Now we have to play with the greatest humility and to stay organized on the field".

For Panama, defeating Colombia for the second time this Gold Cup was a game of inches. One Colombian shot was cleared off the line by Julio Medina, and it¿s still not clear whether it should have been a goal or not. Then a score by Colombia¿s Wason Renteria was called back in a dubious offisde call. Also, the winning goal by Panama¿s Ricardo Phillips on a counterattack struck the inside of the far post before going in.

The United States is looking to add to its 1991 and 2002 titles. In the semifnal, the American team was behind to Honduras until the final five minutes, when Honduras lost its concentration and control of the match. With Honduras leading 1-0 in the 86th minute, Erik Vallecillo¿s attempted clearance bounced off John O¿Brien¿s foot and into the net. As the injury time was coming to an end, Oguchi Onyewu was left unmarked in the penalty area, where the Standard Liege defender connected on a powerful header off a free kick to silence the largely pro-Honduran crowd at Giants Stadium.

"We¿re used to being the away team when we play at home", said Pablo Mastroeni. The semifinal against Honduras marked the 29th match against Concacaf opponents on US soil without a loss for Arena¿s team (since losing to Honduras in 2001).

But as is becoming the custom, it took last-minute heroics from the Red-white-and-blue team to make it happen. "I don't think anyone expected it to be in the last minute of the game, but thankfully it happened", said Onyewu.

"It was a good win for our players", declared Bruce Arena, who was red carded from the match and will be banished from the sidelines for Sunday¿s final (3 p.m. on Univision) "They played exceptionally well in the second half".

The "Canal Crew" hope to ride the wave of emotion over its soccer team ¿ a once in a generation phenomenom - all the way to the title. After the 3-2 semifinal victory over Colombia, the team received a call from Martín Torrijos, the president of Panama, while in the locker room as celebrations erupted.

The lack of depth in its player pool could be Panama¿s Achilles heel. But so far, the Canal Crew has stayed injury free, and they may recover goalscorer Julio Cesar Dely Valdés, who had family commitments in Panama.

Hernandez also hopes to capitalize on the momentum into the next round of Concacaf qualifiers in August. "This will strengthen our team", said the native of Colombia. "Things work backwards in Panama. It¿s different from every other country, where you work the youth divisions and then reap the rewards at the national team. In Panama, we need to achieve success to develop the game and motivate the youth".

"The Americans are very organized and very insistent", underlined Panama¿s coach, Hernandez.

The only positive result for Panama against the giants from the north was a draw against the United States, which obtained a last-minute draw in the Concacaf qualifying round.