ST. LOUIS — Christian Pulisic found the back of the net twice in the first half, while Tim Weah made a successful return to the U.S. national team after serving a suspension and scored once, leading the Americans to a 4-2 victory over Jamaica. This result gave the U.S. a 5-2 aggregate win in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Under the new direction of coach Mauricio Pochettino, this was the U.S. team’s first competitive match, and it set the stage for their advancement to the semifinals scheduled for March 20 in Inglewood, California. The American squad has been dominant in this tournament’s history, having won all three previous editions.
Additionally, the U.S. secured qualification for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, while Jamaica will now need to participate in a playoff to determine their spot.
Pulisic opened the scoring in the 13th minute, capitalizing on a long pass from Weston McKennie, skillfully evading goalkeeper Andre Blake to find the goal. Just 20 minutes later, he increased the lead to 2-0 after receiving a well-timed pass from McKennie, which Tanner Tessmann let go through. His shot, which deflected off Di’Shon Bernard, marked Pulisic’s 33rd goal for the national team.
Ricardo Pepi added to the U.S. tally in the 42nd minute with a precise right-footed shot from just outside the box, making it 3-0, thanks to an assist from Pulisic gathered during the first leg in Kingston.
Jamaica fought back through Demarai Gray, who netted his first goal shortly after halftime in the 53rd minute. However, Weah restored the three-goal cushion in the 56th minute with a well-placed shot under the crossbar. He pounced on a pass from Yunus Musah for his seventh international goal.
Gray managed to score again in the 68th minute, bringing the score to 4-2, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
In other CONCACAF action, Costa Rica held a narrow 1-0 lead heading into their home match against Panama on Monday. On Tuesday night, Mexico aims to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Honduras in their home fixture, while Canada will host Suriname with a slight advantage, leading 1-0.
Weah played in place of the injured Johnny Cardoso, having just completed a two-game suspension from a red card he earned during Copa America last summer. Pochettino made only one alteration from the lineup in the first leg.
In a nostalgic moment, defender Tim Ream, the oldest player at 37 on the roster, proudly captained the team in his hometown of St. Louis. Meanwhile, Jamaica’s coach Steve McLaren revealed that star player Michail Antonio was unable to participate due to a lost passport, which prevented him from obtaining a U.S. visa.