Pulisic and McKennie lead USMNT past Jamaica in Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals

A commanding attacking performance 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 Americans claimed the two-game series, 5-2, on aggregate and sealed qualification to both the Nations League Finals in March and next summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, the continental championship tournament.

Following a rough and rugged 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 CITYPARK. Pulisic scored in the 13th and 33rd minutes off gorgeous feeds from McKennie and Ricardo Pepi added the third shortly before halftime. Weah then marked his USMNT return with an emphatic fourth, in between second-half strikes from Jamaica’s Demarai Gray.

The victory was the USMNT’s third in four matches under coach Mauricio Pochettino, who managed his first home competitive international in one of American soccer’s historic hotbeds.

Ranked 18th in the world, the USA will learn its Nations League semifinal opponent following the Nov. 19 conclusion of the four quarterfinal series. The March matchups at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. will be determined by the semifinal results. The Americans will be playing for their fourth Nations League crown in four attempts. Monday’s result also confirmed the USA’s place at next summer’s Gold Cup (June 14-July 6), the last tournament before it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.

Pochettino made one personnel change and one key tactical change to his lineup for Monday’s second leg.

Johnny Cardoso’s injury in the opener made room 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.

Robinson earned his 50th cap while St. Louis native Ream wore the captain’s armband for the fourth time in Pochettino’s four matches in charge.

The hosts 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. They found one in the 13th minute, shortly after Jamaica had finally committed some manpower 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.

Twenty minutes later, Pulisic and McKennie unlocked the Reggae Boyzagain. Tessman made the key pass, sending a ball from the midfield circle toward the right corner that McKennie was able to run down. He cut a feed back 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.

Pepi appeared to put the series out of reach in the 43rd minute. He pressured Blake into a poor clearance that was controlled by Robinson and Weah on the left. 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 three appearances 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. Gray, who had his penalty kick saved by Turner in the opener, got a measure of revenge in the 53rd minute with a skillful, jumping volley that beat the U.S. goalkeeper. The USA answered three minutes later, restoring its three-goal aggregate advantage following some nice build-up play, a cross from Musah and a right-footed rocket from Weah. Weah’s seventh USMNT goal was his first in official competition since the go-ahead strike against Wales in the 2022 World Cup opener in Qatar.

Gray wasn’t done, however. The former Leicester City, Bayer Leverkusen and Everton player, who’s 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 rain became heavier at CITYPARK. Musah and substitute striker Brandon Vazquez had promising chances just miss the target in the latter stages. There wouldn’t be a fifth, but the four goals was 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.

The USMNT will open 2025 with a Jan. 18 friendly against Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Kickoff at the home of Inter Miami will be 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, which is currently ranked 44th in the world by FIFA.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

USA — Christian Pulisic (Weston McKennie), 13th minute: On Jamaica’s first foray forward, Leon Bailey fell in the U.S. penalty area and the ball was quickly passed forward to Pulisic, who cut his dribble short and slipped the ball to Weah. Weah then switched fields to McKennie, who had time and space to dribble into the Jamaican half. He then curled an exquisite, looping pass over the defense and back toward Pulisic, who beat charging goalkeeper Andre Blake to the ball and knocked a perfect, first-time shot just inside the right post. USA 1, JAM 0

USA — Christian Pulisic (Weston McKennie), 33rd minute: USA midfielder Tanner Tessman set McKennie free with a well-hit pass through the right channel, and McKennie was able to run it down and cut the ball back toward the top of the penalty area. Tessman had followed the play but faked a shot as McKennie’s pass approached and left the ball for Pulisic, who sent an 18-yard shot off a Jamaican defender and in. USA 2, JAM 0

USA — Ricardo Pepi (Antonee Robinson), 42nd minute: Tim Weah and Robinson controlled a clearance from Jamaica’s Andre Blake and Robinson found Pepi near the top of the Jamaican penalty area. Pepi turned on the ball with two touches and ripped a low, 20-yard shot beyond the diving Blake and inside the right post. USA 3, JAM 0

JAM — Demarai Gray (Isaac Hayden), 53rd minute: Jamaica worked the ball down the U.S. left, and Leon Bailey found Hayden on the right edge of the penalty area. Hayden, making his first start for the Reggae Boyz, was able to cut the ball back past a recovering Christian Pulisic before lofting the ball toward the penalty spot. Gray jumped and volleyed an acrobatic shot past Matt Turner. USA 3, JAM 1

USA — Tim Weah (Yunus Musah), 56th minute: An American buildup that began with Joe Scally and ran through Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic resulted in Musah alone with the ball on the right wing. He sent a high cross all the way to the left side of the penalty area, where Weah knocked it down and rocketed a right-footed shot off the bounce and over Andrew Blake. USA 4, JAM 1

JAM — Demarai Gray, 68th minute: As the game became stretched, substitute forward Renaldo Cephas found ample space on the left and held off U.S. right back Joe Scally long enough to send an effort toward goal. Matt Turner dove to his left and made the save, but the ball bounced off Antonee Robinson and into the path of Gray, who hammered home the rebound from just beyond the six-yard box. USA 4, JAM 2 FINAL

-U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report-

Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Jamaica
Date: November 18, 2024
Competition: Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals – Leg 2
Venue: CITYPARK; St. Louis, Mo.
Attendance: 21,080
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. local (8:00 p.m. ET)
Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy

Lineups:
USA: 1-Matt Turner; 22-Joe Scally, 4-Mark McKenzie, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 5-Antonee Robinson; 8-Weston McKennie (14-Gianluca Busio, 69), 18-Tanner Tessmann; 6-Yunus Musah (7-Alex Zendejas, 88), 10-Christian Pulisic (11-Brenden Aaronson, 69), 21-Tim Weah (19-Cade Cowell, 74); 9-Ricardo Pepi (20-Brandon Vazquez, 77)
Substitutes not used: 15-Diego Kochen, 16-Patrick Schulte, 23-Zack Steffen, 2-Auston Trusty, 3-Chris Richards, 12-Miles Robinson, 17-Malik Tillman
Head coach: Mauricio Pochettino

JAM: 1-Andre Blake (Capt.); 4-Amari’I Bell, 6-Di’Shon Bernard, 7-Leon Bailey (21-Romario Williams, 73), 10-Demarai Gray, 11-Shamar Nicholson (20-Renaldo Cephas, 60), 12-Tayvon Gray (22-Greg Leigh, 60), 14-Isaac Hayden, 15-Joel Latibeaudiere, 17-Damion Lowe (16-Karoy Anderson, 73), 18-Tyreek Magee (5-Richard King, 46)
Substitutes not used: 13-Shaquan Davis, 23-Jahmali Waite, 2-Dexter Lembikisa, 3-Khori Bennett, 8-Kasey Palmer, 9-Ravel Morrison
Head coach: Steve McClaren

Stats Summary: USA / JAM
Shots: 16 / 9
Shots on Goal: 7 / 6
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 3
Offside: 2 / 4

Misconduct Summary:
None

Officials:
Referee: Mario Escobar (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Luis Ventura (GUA)
Assistant Referee2: Humberto Panjoj (GUA)
4th Official: Julio Luna (GUA)
VAR: Benjamin Pineda (CRC)
AVAR: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)

Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic