As the USA men’s soccer team looked to have a rough road to repeat as champions in the 2011 Gold Cup (Copa Oro), the United States have won two straight shut-out games and are now just one win away from reaching the finals. Wednesday’s game will not only book the USA into the championship with a win but it will also be a chance to avenge an embarrassing first round loss to Panama. Reliant Stadium in Houston Texas will be the host for USA vs Panama soccer odds which go off the board at 7:00pm EST for the match being aired live on Fox Soccer or Univision.

The winner of the USA vs Panama semifinal match will play the winner of the Honduras vs Mexico game at 10:00pm EST. Vegas and online bookmakers have opened with the USA as -275 favorites in Gold Cup soccer odds while Panama, who defeated the United States 2-1 in the Group stages, would return +600 if they can pull off back-to-back upsets while a Draw would pay-out +330 on a $100 wager. Bookmakers have also opened with the U.S.A as -1.5 (+130) favorites on the point-spread line for the semifinal match while Panama has been listed as +1.5 (-170) underdogs. The over/under total for Wednesday’s match on Fox Soccer from Reliant Stadium has been posted at 2.5 OVER (-125) or UNDER (-105).

The USA started their 2011 Gold Cup campaign with a well deserved 2-0 win vs Canada in the Group stages but then had a horrible showing vs Panama in a 1-2 loss and barely managed to defeat Guadeloupe 1-0 to reach the quarterfinals. As many questions and doubts arouse about the future of soccer in the USA from their recent performances, the team was able to play as expected vs Jamaica to win the match 2-0 as -200 betting favorites in soccer odds. USA forward Jozy Altidore left in the 9th minute vs Jamaica with an injured hamstring and is doubtful for the Gold Cup semifinal match vs Panama but the team was able to respond with Jermaine Jones’ first career goal and the 21st from Clint Dempsey. Wednesday should prove to be a good indication of whether or not the USA is simply consistent at slow starts in tournaments or simply does not have the skill and more importantly the coaching it takes to win at the world level.

As for “Los Canaleros,” the squad refused to drop a game defeating Guadeloupe 3-2, the USA 1-2 and drew 1-1 with Canada to win Group C before handing El Salvador a 1-1 defeat on penalty kicks (5-3). Things will be different this time around though as Panama will not have striker Blas Perez on the pitch serving a 1-game suspension due to a red-card vs El Salvador. That being said, the USA will need to make sure that Luis Tejada is closely marked as the striker has had his foot on all four of Panama’s goals in the tournament. Tejada was an important factor in the group stage win and will need to have the same type of performance in the knock-out round if the Panamanians are to pull off the upset in soccer odds once again as +600 underdogs. Heading into Wednesday’s semifinal match, the USA holds a 6-1-2 all-time record vs Los Canaleros with 19-goals while Panama has found the net 6-times.

2011 Gold Cup Picks: USA -275