As many would have expected at the start of this season's Nations League, the mighty Americans are back in the semis with a chance to retain their title once again.

They are the only team that have ever lifted this trophy, and they have not been eliminated at this stage of a CONCACAF tournament since the Panamanians beat them on penalties in the 2023 Gold Cup.

Since being shut out 2-0 in a friendly versus Mexico last October, Mauricio Pochettino has seen his players react well, winning their last four international encounters by a combined margin of 10-3.

In their three previous Nations League semi-finals combined, the US have conceded just a single goal, levelling their match with Jamaica at this stage a year ago in the 96th minute, before eventually winning 3-1 after extra time.

The Americans have won their previous four home matches across all competitions and have gone unbeaten in five consecutive games played on US soil.

In their entire Nations League history, this team have never lost a home match, with their last defeat in this competition occurring away to Trinidad and Tobago in November 2023 (2-1) advancing from that quarter-final tie 4-2 on aggregate.

Thursday will only be the second time they face a side from Central America at this tournament, with the Yanks defeating Honduras 1-0 in the semi-finals of the first Nations League in 2021.

It was a difficult quarter-final tie for Panama, but they did enough to get by, with their 1-0 leg-one victory in Costa Rica ultimately making the difference.

This will be the third time Thomas Christiansen's side have reached the semi-finals of this tournament, and they lost their previous two appearances at this stage.

La Marea Roja have never scored a goal beyond the quarter-finals of a Nations League game, following up a 3-0 semi-final defeat to Mexico last year with a 1-0 loss in the third-place playoff against Jamaica.

Panama come into this match in poor form, winning just one of their previous seven competitive fixtures, losing their only two games this year by a combined margin of 8-2.

The Panamanians have lost their last two matches played against North American opposition, scoring just one goal during that run.

Going back to March 2023, the Panamanians are unbeaten in their last nine international affairs when scoring the opening goal, winning in eight of those instances.

Los Canaleros have emerged victorious in two of their previous three meetings with the US, coming from behind to beat them 2-1 in the group phase of the 2024 Copa America.

USA possible starting lineup:

Turner; Scally, Richards, Ream, A. Robinson; McKennie, Tessmann; Musah, Pulisic, Weah; Sargent

Panama possible starting lineup:

Mosquera; Blackman, Farina, Cordoba, Gutierrez; Godoy, Martinez, Carrasquilla; Rodriguez, Fajardo, Waterman