ST. LOUIS — For the first 45 minutes on Monday night against Jamaica, the U.S. men’s national team couldn’t have been more dominant.
Following a hard-fought and well-earned 1-0 win over the Reggae Boyz at National Stadium in Kingston four days earlier — a victory preserved by a sensational penalty kick save by U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner — coach Mauricio Pochettino’s team wanted to shock and awe the visitors with so much intensity that they could score a few more goals quickly and put the two-game, aggregate-goals-wins Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal firmly out of reach.
Mission accomplished, and then some.
Even though Jamaica got lucky when Tim Weah’s blistering fourth-minute shot hit the inside of Andre Blake’s post but rebounded safely away, it didn’t take the Americans long to double their total-goals advantage ahead through Christian Pulisic. Pulisic added another in short order (it was later ruled an own goal) before Ricardo Pepi sealed the hosts’ spot in next year’s semis before the opening half was over.
Jamaica was totally overwhelmed, reduced to mere spectators at times as the U.S. pinged the ball around and between them, completing both long and short passes with blistering speed and precision. For a USMNT squad that struggled so mightily during the 2024 Copa América debate and even at times last month, during Pochettino’s first two games in charge, it was a sight to behold.
“Just about perfect,” was how U.S. captain Tim Ream summed up the first stanza afterward. ” We spoke about that at halftime, and just the movements and the dynamic and getting everybody involved from the get-go. It was exactly the way we talked about it in the last couple of days.”
Even the demanding Pochettino couldn’t have been happier.
“I think we all saw the way that we want play,” the new boss said.
The vibes in the stands inside City Park in perhaps the country’s most historic soccer towns reflected couldn’t have been better. If this was a preview of how the U.S. might look in the year and and half before the all-important FIFA World Cup on home soil, it was encouraging.
The second half, on the other hand, showed that the U.S. still has plenty of room to get better under Pochettino. If they are to make a deep run in 2026, they’ll have to.
“The challenge in the second half was to win the second half,” said Pochettino, whose side failed to accomplish that goal, with Jamaican winger Demarai Gray scoring two goals to Weah’s one over the final period. “That was only the thing that was a little bit worrying, not to go into the second half with the same mentality … I think there are things we still need to improve.”
Still, it’s hard to quibble too much. The Americans were leading the overall series 4-0 before the visitors pulled one back. Maybe some sort of subconscious letdown was inevitable. But Pochettino, the all-planet former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager, didn’t get to that level without having sky-high standards.
Asked what he attributed the fast start to, Weah didn’t hesitate. “Honestly, it’s the coach,” he said. “We kind of just listened to what his instructions were in training, and we applied it to the field. “He gives us the freedom to play,”
And he’s already upped the expectations inside his new squad’s dressing room.
“You can’t be pleased with the second half,” Ream said. “But to come away with four goals scored, and five over the two games, and moving on to the semifinals, you have to be pretty happy.”
Especially against a physical and experienced opponent that, even without top striker Michail Antonio, boasted five players employed by clubs in England’s vaunted Premier League, the game’s top domestic circuit. After all, this same Jamaican team was mere seconds away from beating the U.S. at home just nine months ago, in the semifinals of the 2023-24 Nations League tournament. Only a 95th minute own goal allowed the Americans to survive that one and eventually go on to beat rivals Mexico and claim a third consecutive Nations League title. The win in Jamaica last week was just the second all-time in a competitive match there for the USMNT.
“It was important for us to come out, first of all, [and get] a good result in Jamaica,” Pulisic said. “Not an easy game. So it was a really good team performance, and I thought we showed a lot of grit and a lot of different sides to us.”
After a mostly disappointing 2024, Monday was a good way to end the year. The full-strength U.S. team won’t assemble again until the Nations League final four in March. They know the work under Pochettino is only just beginning, but this month’s two victories clearly gave them both a confidence boost and something tangible to build on when the calendar flips to 2025.
“The progression is so good,” Pochettino said before offering a caveat to his players. “My only advice is, look after yourself. We need to be stronger in March.”
That message has been received loud and clear already.
“We’re in a good spot now,” Pulisic said. “But we have some bigger games ahead, and we need to continue to improve.”
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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