On Monday night in St. Louis, the United States Men’s National Team defeated Jamaica 4-2, and 5-2 on aggregate after their 1-0 win in Kingston last week. They will now play in the semi-finals scheduled for March 2025.
The United States turned on the style in the first half, setting the tone early as Timothy Weah (who missed the first leg through suspension) hit the post after just three minutes following a scintillating team move. Captain Christian Pulisic broke the deadlock just 10 minutes later after a lovely lofted ball from Weston McKennie met Pulisic’s shot in the box, which caught Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake off his line. The US scored again 20 minutes later after a shot from Pulisic deflected into the Jamaican net, and was ultimately ruled an own goal by Di’Shon Bernard.
Ricardo Pepi, who scored the lone goal in the first leg, capped off the excellent first half for the Americans with a curling finish past Blake before halftime.
Jamaica attempted to mount a comeback in the second half, with striker Demarai Gray pulling one back for the Reggae Boyz in the 53rd minute to make it 4-1 on aggregate. American Timothy Weah responded almost immediately after he hit a powerful volley which all but confirmed their advancement into the next round. Gray scored another for Jamaica 15 minutes later to make it 5-2 on aggregate, but it was too little too late.
The match also highlighted the first time new coach Mauricio Pochettino oversaw a competitive match on American soil. He spoke about it in the postgame presser:
“I am so happy, because in these two camps in two months, it’s amazing the way we are one team. It is a team that is very careful about each other, they fight for each other. I think we are creating that idea, of being together and how to feel confident. And that’s the most important thing, is to just try on the field.”
