Graham Zusi's 1st international goal leads US soccer to 1-0 win

Five months before the start of World Cup qualifying, the United States got an exhibition win in Central America under some of the conditions the players will face on the road to the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Graham Zusi scored his first international goal in the eighth minute, and the Americans beat Panama 1-0 Wednesday night at Panama City for their third straight win.

"We wanted to introduce the players to those difficult games in different environments, especially away from home outside of their comfort zone," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "We wanted them to come here and experience this atmosphere and a different way of doing things. I think they did very well with all that."

Using mostly backups while the regulars remained with their European clubs and playing nearly the entire second half a man short, the Americans evened their record at 4-4-1 under Klinsmann, who replaced Bob Bradley as coach last summer.

"It was fun. The crowd was great. It was a fun environment to play in," Zusi said. '

Panama, which upset the U.S. in the first round of last year's CONCACAF Gold Cup, had a man advantage after Geoff Cameron received a red card in the 52nd minute for shoving Blas Perez from behind on a breakaway just outside the penalty area.

Perez nearly tied it in the 78th but sent a short downward header wide.

"In the first half I think we were the better team," said midfielder Jermaine Jones, who served as the U.S. captain for the second straight match. "The second half was difficult because we were a man down and Panama pushed hard."

Other than the goal, the Americans rarely threatened — the U.S. didn't have its first corner kick until the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half, just before the final whistle.

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando, making his first national team appearance in a year, had several difficult saves to prevent the hosts from scoring. The U.S. was coming off a 1-0 win over Venezuela on Saturday at Glendale, Ariz., its first victory over a South American opponent in nearly five years.

"To get two victories and come down to Central America and beat Panama is huge," Rimando said. "It's a testament to all the hard work everyone has put in."

During a three-week training camp, Klinsmann got to test the depth of his player pool as the Americans prepare for their opening qualifier, on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda.