[dfwgator]

Of course they showed the effort. For most of the players, this was their only chance to make an impression on Klinsmann to be on the squad for Brazil.

Maybe the US didn’t have anything on the line, but for the players, EVERYTHING was on the line for them.

[safeasthebanks]

I got this from the SI website, "comments" section, but if true, it does support your point:

@KyleBeckerman tells me Panamanian players were begging US to take it easy on the field. "I (Beckerman) told them I got to play hard to get to Brazil."