A Panama squad with a heavy MLS influence earned an impressive result against Brazil on Saturday afternoon, holding the five-time World Cup winners to 1-1 draw in a friendly played in Portugal.
Three current MLS players started for Los Canaleros: San Jose Earthquakes duo Anibal Godoy and Harold Cummings, as well as New York Red Bulls right back Michael Murillo. Additionally, five former MLSers featured in Panama's starting lineup: Adolfo Machado, Fidel Escobar, Armando Cooper, Gabriel Torres and Alberto Quintero.
It was Machado, who left the Houston Dynamo following the 2018 campaign, who scored the historic goal for Panama. His 35th-minute header from a free kick, just four minutes after Brazil had taken the league, was his country's first ever against La Seleçao:
Elsewhere in Europe, a handful of current MLS players were in action as qualifying for Euro 2020 kicked off around the continent. New York City FC forward Alexandru Mitrita started but was subbed out to start the second half for Romania, who fell 2-1 in Sweden. Seattle's Gustav Svensson entered the game as a 68th-minute substitute for Sweden.
San Jose duo Vako and Guram Kashia both started for Georgia and went the full 90 as they kicked off qualifying by hosting Switzerland, but they could not help their team stave off defeat as they fell 2-0 to a favored Swiss side. It was a similar story for Chicago Fire wide man Nico Hasler, who started for Liechtenstein but couldn't help his side to an upset of Greece, who walked out 2-0 victors. Meanwhile, Minnesota midfielder Rasmus Schuller did not feature off the bench as Finland fell by the same scoreline to Italy.
In African Cup of Nations Qualifying, Sporting KC defender Abdul Rwatubyaye started and went the distance for already-eliminated Rwanda, who fell 3-0 at the Ivory Coast in the final round of games before the tournament proper this summer.
The day's big MLS vs. MLS matchup came in Concacaf, as El Salvador downed Jamaica 2-0 in the teams' final Concacaf Nations League qualifier on Saturday in San Salvador. Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union) had an uncharacteristic gaffe in goal for Jamaica, as his flubbed block led to El Salvador's first goal. It got worse, as Darren Mattocks (FC Cincinnati) was sent off late for the Reggae Boyz for a high boot. Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls), Cory Burke (Philadelphia Union), Alvas Powell (FC Cincinnati) and Peter-Lee Vassell (LAFC) all started for Jamaica, while Darwin Ceren (Houston Dynamo) started for the winning side.
Earlier on Saturday evening, Philadelphia midfielder Warren Creavalle was a 67th-minute substitute as Guyana game themselves a shot at Gold Cup qualification with a 2-1 win over Belize. Seattle defender Jordy Delem also started for Martinique, who cemented their spot in the Gold Cup and the top tier of the Nations League with a 1-0 win over Guadeloupe.
