The United States men’s national team have booked their place in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals following a 4-2 victory over Jamaica on Monday in the quarterfinal second leg. Christian Pulisic netted a brace, becoming the fastest player in USMNT history to reach 50 goal contributions and Ricardo Pepi marked his first back-to-back starts since 2022 with goals in back-to-back games. Jamaica would find a goal of their own in the second half but it was quickly canceled out by Tim Weah finding the back of the net. The USMNT hadn’t scored four goals since 2023 when they faced Ghana in a friendly so despite the disappointment of conceding two second-half goals, this is a step in the right direction for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
They’ll have to wait for the remainder of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal matches to come to a close before finding out who they’ll face when the tournament picks back up in March, but with a plus-three goal difference, the USMNT will have a good chance at grabbing the top seed for the semifinals.
As for the display on the pitch, Pochettino’s tactical tweaks are beginning to show as Yunus Musah delivered an assist from the wing and Antonee Robinson was taking up positions essentially in midfield. The USMNT defense lost some steam in the second half after entering with a three-goal lead but that’s where some of the lack of depth showed. It has been a long international break for the squad and while they did their best to limit Jamaica’s chances, the Reggae Boyz have an attack that can cause issues.
Matt Turner was at fault for a couple goals but when the USMNT won the xG battle outshooting Jamaica 16-9, it’s a good night of work in a home stadium. Mark McKenzie even attempted more than 100 passes in defense showing how dominant the USMNT were in possession. They knew what they wanted to do and they executed it against a scrambled team.
Each member of the attack took multiple shots and when Weah, Pulisic, and Pepi all find the net in the same match, the USMNT are going to win more often than not. This was their first match with Weah since Copa America play and his importance to the attack can’t be overstated. Wings did the heavy lifting with six chances created and six shots all coming from wide players which is the Pochettino way of attack.
Now the USMNT will have time to get healthier and Pochettino will have January camp, where it has been announced that they’ll face Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 18, looking take a look further down the depth chart and get a look at domestic players outside of a FIFA international window.Â