USMNT trounce Jamaica 4-2 to advance to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nation League | OneFootball

A dominant display of great attacking prowess and defensive resilience highlighted by two goals from Christian Pulisic and a pair of assists from Weston McKennie lifted the U.S. Men’s National Team to a 4-2 win over Jamaica in Monday’s second leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in St. Louis. The Stars and Stripes shrugged off the Reggae Boyz in the two-game series, 5-2, on aggregate and sealed qualification to both the Nations League Semi-finals in March and next summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, the continental championship tournament.

The USA, on the backend of a hard-fought 1-0 win in the Nov. 14 opener in the Jamaican capital of Kingston, the USA attacked with panache and precision before a crowd of 21,080 at St. Louis City’s CITY PARK. The AC Milan protege Christian Pulisic scored in the 13th and 33rd minutes off a gorgeous feed from Weston McKennie, and Ricardo Pepi added the third shortly before halftime. Tim Weah then marked his USMNT return with an emphatic fourth between two second-half strikes from Jamaica’s ace Demarai Gray.

The victory was the USMNT’s third in four matches and the second in an official match under the well-traveled coach Mauricio Pochettino, who managed his first home competitive international in one of American soccer’s historic hotbeds. Pochettino made one personnel change and one critical tactical change to his lineup for Monday’s second leg.

The Real Bletis man Johnny Cardoso picked up a hip injury in the opener. He made way for the return of Weah, who made his debut under the new manager after returning from injury and suspension. The tactical wrinkle was Pulisic’s shift to the central playmaking role beneath Pepi. Pochettino pulled McKennie back to fill Cardoso’s midfield spot beside Tanner Tessman, brought Pulisic inside and put Weah on the left wing. Yunus Musah remained on the right while the back four of Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Joe Scally was deployed in front of goalkeeper Matt Turner for the third time in four games.

Pochettino’s opposite number, Steve McClaren, made several changes to his 11 that started in Kingston 4 days ago. He brought Tyreek Magee in the number 10 role to replace Kasey Palmer and to connect with the offensive trio of Shamar Nicholson, Leon Bailey, and Demarai Gray. The out of favor New Castle man Isaac Hayden got his first start in the Reggae Boyz color after replacing the suspended Mason Holgate to form a central pivot with Joel Latibeaudiere. Coach McClaren made a few tactical changes in the defence; Dexter Lembikisa and Gregory Leigh were dropped to the bench. Tayvon Gray and Di’Shon Bernard were filling in the slots, and they formed a quartet with Damion Lowe and Amari'i Bell in front of custodian Andre Blake, moving from a back three to a back four.

In the 4th minute the hosts, who won all three ever CONCACAF Nation League championships, opened the contest with almost three minutes of uninterrupted possession, which ended with a slick give-and-go between Weah and Robinson and then a blast from Weah that struck the left post. The Reggae Boyz appeared willing to cede the midfield, and the Americans looked comfortable passing, moving and probing for an opening. In the 9th minute, it was Timothy Weah whose marauding runs down the left wing caused severe havoc for Jamaica as he unleashed a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that agonizingly missed the inside of the right post after collecting a delightful pass from Ricardo Pepi.

With the USA's early dominance and consistent knocking at the defensive door of the Reggae Boyz, they finally made a breakthrough in the 13th minute, shortly after Jamaica had finally committed some staffing to the attack.

Offered an opportunity to search for space behind Jamaica’s compact formation for the first time, the Americans launched a devastating counter that began with an outlet to Pulisic, who then found Weah on the left. He switched the ball to McKennie, his Juventus teammate, and McKennie then picked out Pulisic with a perfect, curving cross from the right. Pulisic beat Jamaica’s Andre Blake to the ball and finished inside the right post.

Jamaica, for most of the opening twenty minutes been chasing shadows, finally got a glimmer of hope when Shamar Nicholson out-muscled veteran defender Tim Ream and then sizzled a right-footed shot from the right side of the box after collecting a superlative curling pass over the last line of USA defence by Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey. Matt Turner went low to his left to scoop up the shot to keep the score at 1-0.

Jamaica v United States: Quarterfinals - Leg Two - 2024 Concacaf Nations League / Omar Vega/GettyImages

In the 33rd minute, Pulisic and McKennie unlocked the Reggae Boyz again. Tessman made the key pass, sending a ball from the midfield circle toward the right corner that McKennie could run down. He cut a feedback toward the top of the 18-yard box, which Tessman dummied brilliantly for Pulisic. His shot deflected off Jamaica’s Di'Shon Bernard and past a helpless Blake. Pulisic’s 33rd USMNT goal was also his team-leading fifth of 2024.

With the pressure mountain up on the Jamaicans, things got even worse on the cusp of the first half. Pepi’s hammer blow in the 43rd minute put the series out of reach for the Reggae Boyz. Under pressure, Blake opted to go long instead of passing out from the back to Lowe, who made himself available for an outlet. His initial long effort was a poor clearance that was controlled expertly by arguably the best left-back at Fulham FC, Antonee Robinson. Robinson found Pepi at the top of the penalty area, and the in-form striker turned deftly on the ball and laced a low, 20-yard shot just beyond the diving Blake and inside the right post. It was Pepi’s third goal in his third appearance under Pochettino (he notched the only goal in the quarterfinal opener in Kingston). He also has six for PSV Eindhoven this fall.

The three-goal halftime margin sparked a wild, wide-open second period as Jamaica threw bodies forward, refusing to go quietly or “roll over and play dead.” Gray, who had his penalty kick saved by Turner in the opener, got a measure of revenge in the 53rd minute with a well-timed jumping volley that beat the U.S. goalkeeper after collecting a well-crafted chip pass from Isaac Hayden. The USA answered three minutes later, restoring its three-goal aggregate cushion following some excellent build-up play, a cross from Musah and a right-footed thunderbolt from Weah. Weah’s seventh USMNT goal was his first in official competition since the go-ahead strike against Wales in Qatar's 2022 World Cup opener.

Gray wasn’t done, however. The former Leicester City, Bayer Leverkusen and Everton player, now at Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq, tallied his second of the night off a 68th-minute rebound. Turner made the save on a shot from Renaldo Cephas, but the goalie parried the ball off Robinson and into Gray’s path.

Time was running out on the Reggae Boyz, and the Americans had the goals they needed, but they continued to create chances as the rain became heavier at CITY PARK. Musah and substitute striker Brandon Vazquez had promising chances but just missed the target in the latter stages. There wouldn’t be a fifth, but the four goals were the most in a single game by the USMNT in more than a year since a 4-0 friendly win over Ghana on Oct. 17, 2023.

The USA raised its record in the all-time series with Jamaica to 22W-3L-10D, and its current unbeaten run since losing a 2019 friendly lengthened to 7W-0L-2D. The victory also boosted the USA to .500 for the year—the Americans finished an eventful 2024 at 6W-6L-2D. Now the stage is set for 2025. Both teams have qualified for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup and might meet again as they usually do in that competition.

The USMNT will open 2025 with a Jan. 18 friendly against Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Kickoff at Inter Miami's home at 3 p.m. ET. The match, which falls outside a FIFA international window, will be broadcast by TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Max, Peacock and Fútbol de Primera radio. The USA is 3W-1L-2D all-time against Venezuela, currently ranked 44th globally by FIFA. Jamaica will next be in action in March of 2025 for the Gold Cup Preliminry round, before their next World Qualifier between British Virgin Island on June 7.