“We made it really tough on ourselves,” defender Omar Gonzalez said. “We could’ve done much better. That’s the disappointing part, the fact that we gave up two goals.”

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The Americans (1-0-1) jumped to the top of the Group B standings and all but sealed a quarterfinal place ahead of Saturday’s group finale against Nicaragua (0-2-0) in Cleveland.

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Panama (1-0-1) is even with the United States on points and goal differential but behind on total goals. Martinique (1-1-0) remains in contention to advance in the 12-team competition.

Gonzalez provided the lead in the 53rd minute by stabbing in a rebound from close range. In the 64th, an overlapping Eric Lichaj crossed to the near post for Morris’s redirect from four yards.

Two minutes later, however, goalkeeper Brad Guzan didn’t do well with Kevin Parsemain’s 23-yard bid, letting the ball slip past him at the right corner. And in the 74th minute, a series of deflections after faulty U.S. defending resulted in a shocking equalizer.

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Two minutes passed, and Gyasi Zardes crossed from the left flank to Morris, who smashed an eight-yarder into the top right corner.

The only three starting holdovers from the weekend’s 1-1 draw with Panama were Gonzalez, Guzan and defensive midfielder Kellyn Acosta. Coach Bruce Arena extended opportunities to, among others, outside backs Lichaj and Justin Morrow, center back Matt Hedges and midfielder Cristian Roldan. He also reintroduced Zardes and forward Juan Agudelo, and put Morris and Paul Arriola on the spot.

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“One of the things we’re trying to do in this tournament,” Arena said, “is look at players in our pool we haven’t seen much of. … We’re guilty of making the game more difficult than it needed to be.”

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The Americans got off to a bright start, but without anyone taking charge, they couldn’t sustain it. Their few opportunities fizzled in off-target shots and missed connections.

They had eight corner kicks in the first half, but Martinique had the better genuine chances: Parsemain hit the near post from eight yards in the 31st minute, and Stephane Abaul’s header narrowly missed in the 43rd.

After intermission, the Americans played with greater purpose but continued coming up empty. Arriola’s six-yard stab off Agudelo’s deflected shot smacked the crossbar, and Morris wasn’t able to chip a shot over advancing goalkeeper Kevin Olimpa. A minute after Morris’s missed opportunity, Gonzalez scored his second career international goal by stabbing a rebound past Olimpa.

In the night’s first match, Panama scored twice in a seven-minute span early in the second half to overcome a deficit and defeat Nicaragua, 2-1.