ATLANTA — United States men’s national team forward Tim Weah was sent off in the 18th minute of his team’s Copa América group stage match against Panama on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Weah extended his hand and struck Panama defender Roderick Miller in the back of his head in an off-ball incident. Weah was initially shown a yellow card, but it was changed to a red card by center official Iván Barton after video review.
Folarin Balogun scored for the USMNT four minutes later, but Panama’s César Blackman equalized four minutes after that.
Weah’s ejection is only the second of his career for club or country — his first came with Lille in 2022 — and leaves him ineligible to play in the group-stage finale against Uruguay on Monday.
Weah’s red card is the second-fastest from the start of the game by a USMNT player over the last 40 years and the earliest in a competitive match in that span.
Jimmy Conrad was sent off 17 minutes into a match against Honduras in a 2010 friendly.
The U.S. was dealt a further blow at half-time, with goalkeeper Matt Turner substituted and replaced by Ethan Horvath after receiving treatment for several minutes in the first half following a collision with Panama’s César Blackman.
The USMNT entered Thursday’s game level on points with Uruguay at the top of Group C after beating Bolívia in its tournament opener. Gregg Berhalter’s side will face Uruguay in its group stage finale on Monday.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
