USMNT ADVANCES TO CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE FINALS FOLLOWING 4-2 VICTORY OVER JAMAICA

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. see more..