United States Advances to Concacaf Nations League Semifinal
Pochettino and the US are on to the semifinals after defeating Jamaica.
Mauricio Pochettino and the United States took the field at CITYPARK in St. Louis on Monday, as they hosted Jamaica in the second leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal after securing a 1-0 victory on the road against Jamaica on Thursday.
Monday’s outing saw one change to the lineup. Former Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner started in net behind the back line of Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, and Joe Scally. Tanner Tessmann and Weston McKennie provided the defense in the midfield behind the trio of a returning Tim Weah, Cristian Pulisic, and Yunus Musah, who sat behind the lone forward, Ricardo Pepi.
The United States nearly got things going early in the fourth minute. After receiving Ream’s pass, Pulisic drove up the left flank before passing it ahead to Weah.
The Juventus forward and Robinson executed great give-and-go passing that led the ball back to Weah, who drove into the box and attempted to slot it to the upper-right corner. The woodwork was Andre Blake’s friend at the moment as the shot ricocheted off the left goalpost and away from danger.
McKennie and Pulisic put on a spectacular display of offense to put the United States up 1-0 in the 14th minute. After getting on top of the ball in the middle third of the field, McKennie booted the ball forward into a pocket of space that Pulisic ran into as he volleyed the ball past an advancing Andre Blake and into the net.
A momentary lapse by the Jamaican defense almost led the U.S. to find a second goal in the 24th minute. After a collision in the midfield, Pulisic darted onto the ball and passed it forward to Robinson, who advanced into the box before tapping it forward into the path of Pepi. The striker ran onto the ball and drilled it into an advancing Blake, who deflected it away.
The McKennie-Pulisic combination linked again in the 33rd minute. After driving down the right flank, McKennie cut the ball centrally to Tessmann, who dummied it as the ball rolled to the feet of Pulisic. The A.C. Milan forward’s shot deflected off Di’Shon Bernard’s left heel and ricocheted to the bottom left corner and in to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead.
After a poor clearance from Blake, Robinson got the ball from Weah before slotting it to Pepi, who slotted it under the defender's legs and past the reach of Blake to score in the 42nd minute.
After a feisty opening game on Thursday, tempers flared up again in the 49th minute when Joel Latibeaudiere fouled Pulisic as both sides got into a skirmish.
After some good offensive chances, Jamaica inched its way into the game in the 53rd minute. After dribbling away from pressure, Leon Bailey passed the ball forward to Isaac Hayden, who crossed the ball centrally to Demari Gray. Gray leaped into the air and volleyed the ball past Turner to shrink Jamaica’s deficit to two.
The U.S. wasted no time putting up a response. After receiving Pulisic’s pass, Musah drilled a cross to an open Weah on the opposite side of the box. After taking a touch, the Juventus forward drilled a shot past Blake to give the U.S. a 4-1 lead.
Despite the barrier ahead of them, Jamaica was up for the challenge. Something displayerd in the 68th minute when they found its second goal of the night.
After Renaldo Cephas’ shot was parried by Turner and deflected off Robinson, Gray was there to get onto the rebound and net his second goal of the evening to once again shrink Jamaica’s deficit to two.
Two changes came for the U.S. in the 69th minute as Brendan Aaronson and Gianluca Busio replaced McKennie and Pulisic. Another two changes came in the 76th minute as Cade Cowell and Brandon Vazquez replaced Pepi and Weah. Poch’s final substitution came in the 88th minute when Alex Zendejas replaced Musah.
Thanks to a 1-0 win on the road and a 4-2 win in St. Louis, the United States punched its ticket to the Concacaf Nations League semifinal following a 5-2 victory on aggregate.
Monday’s match marked the final game of 2024 for the United States. The next outing sees the stars and stripes square off against Venezuela inside Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on January 18th, 2025 before resuming Concacaf Nations League action in March.