A victory would send the US through to the knockout round following their 2-0 win over Bolivia in Sunday's opener and would take the pressure off their final group match against Uruguay.

As an added incentive, they have the opportunity to avenge their loss on penalties to Los Canaleros in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals, a memory still fresh in their minds.

"They beat us in the Gold Cup semi-final last year with a pretty good performance," US goalkeeper Matt Turner told reporters.

"They bring man-to-man pressure, they're a team that has a lot of really talented players and athletes. We're expecting a physical game, really competitive.

"We know how good Panama is and it's going to be a real test for us."

Despite the stinging Gold Cup loss, the US enjoy a dominant 17-2-7 record all-time against the Central American side.

They will look to build on their win over Bolivia, where they got off to a flying start with first-half goals by Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun but were held scoreless after the break.

Urging them on will be a large and raucous crowd at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is home to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Atlanta United.

"It feels good to be in Atlanta," Turner said.

"I've played in MLS for a number of years and this is one of the away games you really didn't ever want to play, especially when they first came into the league."

Atlanta United broke attendance records when the team joined the North American league in 2017, establishing the city as a hotbed for soccer fandom in the US The football federation's first-ever national training centre will open in the greater Atlanta area in 2026.

"We know that the fan turnout at Mercedes-Benz is really good and we're hoping to see some of that and feel that energy from the crowd on Thursday night," Turner said.