An impressive attacking performance, highlighted by two goals from Christian Pulisic and a pair of assists from Weston McKennie, lifted the US men’s national team to a 4-2 victory over Jamaica in the second leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in St. Louis. The Americans claimed the two-match series, 5-2, on aggregate and sealed qualification for both the Nations League Finals in March and next summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, the continental championship tournament.

After a rough and tumble 1-0 victory in the Nov. 14 opener in the Jamaican capital Kingston, the U.S. attacked with panache and precision in front of a crowd of 21,080 at CITYPARK in St. Louis City. Pulisic scored in the 13th and 33rd minutes after beautiful feeds from McKennie and Ricardo Pepi added the third shortly before half-time. Weah then marked his USMNT return with an emphatic fourth, between second-half goals from Jamaica’s Demarai Gray.

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

The USA are ranked 18th in the world and will know their opponent in the Nations League semi-finals after the conclusion of the four quarter-finals on November 19. The March matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California will be determined by the results of the semifinals. The Americans are playing for their fourth Nations League crown in four attempts. Monday’s result also confirmed the US’s place in next summer’s Gold Cup (June 14-July 6), the final tournament before the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.

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

Johnny Cardoso’s injury in the opener made way 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 playmaker role under Pepi. Pochettino withdrew McKennie to fill Cardoso’s spot in midfield alongside Tanner Tessman, brought in Pulisic and put Weah on the left wing. Yunus Musah stayed on the right while the back four of Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Joe Scally were 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 games in charge.

The hosts opened the match with almost three minutes of uninterrupted possession, which ended with a smooth give-and-go between Weah and Robinson and then a blast from Weah that hit the left post. The Reggaeboyz seemed willing to cede midfield, and the Americans seemed comfortable passing, moving and looking for an opening. They found one in the 13th minute, shortly after Jamaica finally committed some manpower to the attack.

When the Americans first had the opportunity to find space behind Jamaica’s compact formation, they launched a devastating counter that started with an outlet for 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, arcing cross from the right. Pulisic beat Jamaica’s Andre Blake with the ball and finished inside the right post.

Twenty minutes later Pulisic and McKennie unlocked the Reggaeboyzagain. Tessman made the key pass, sending a ball from the midfield circle into the right corner for McKennie to run down. He cut a feedback to the top of the 18-yard box, which Tessman brilliantly dummyed for Pulisic. His shot hit Jamaican Di’Shon Bernard and passed a helpless Blake. Pulisic’s 33rd USMNT goal was also his team-leading fifth goal of 2024.

Pepi seemed 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 box, and the in-form striker deftly turned to the ball and fired a low shot from 20 yards just past the diving Blake and inside the right post. It was Pepi’s third goal in his three appearances under Pochettino (he scored the only goal in the quarter-final opener in Kingston). This autumn he also has six for PSV Eindhoven.

The three-goal halftime margin led to a wild, wide-open second period as Jamaica threw bodies forward and refused to go quietly. Gray, who had his penalty saved by Turner in the opener, got some revenge in the 53rd minute with a skillful, leaping volley that beat the American goalkeeper. The USA responded three minutes later, restoring their overall three-goal lead after 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 leading against Wales in the 2022 World Cup opener in Qatar.

However, Gray wasn’t done yet. The former Leicester City, Bayer Leverkusen and Everton player, who now plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq, got his second of the evening after a rebound in the 68th minute. Turner made a save on Renaldo Cephas’ shot, but the goalkeeper parried the ball off Robinson and into the path of Gray.

Time was running out Reggaeboyz and the Americans had the goals they needed, but they continued to create chances as the rain intensified in CITYPARK. Musah and substitute Brandon Vazquez had promising chances in the final phase that went just wide of the goal. There would be no fifth, but the four goals were the USMNT’s most in a single match in more than a year, since a 4-0 friendly win over Ghana on October 17, 2023.

The U.S. increased its all-time series record with Jamaica to 22W-3L-10D, and their current undefeated streak since losing a friendly in 2019 was extended to 7W-0L-2D. The win also moved the US to .500 for the year: the Americans closed out an eventful 2024 at 6W-6L-2D. Now the stage is set for 2025.

The USMNT opens 2025 with a friendly on January 18 against Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Kickoff at Inter Miami’s home ground is at 3:00 PM ET. The match, which falls outside an international FIFA window, will be broadcast by TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Max, Peacock and Fútbol de Primera radio. The US is 3W-1L-2D all-time against Venezuela, currently ranked 44th in the world by FIFA.

GOAL SCORING REPORT

USA — Christian Pulisic (Weston McKennie), 13th minute: Jamaica’s first attack dropped Leon Bailey in the American penalty area and the ball was quickly passed to Pulisic, who cut off his dribble and slid 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 towards Pulisic, who beat attacking goalkeeper Andre Blake to the ball and struck a perfect shot just inside the right post. US 1, JAM 0

USA — Christian Pulisic (Weston McKennie), 33rd minute: American midfielder Tanner Tessman set McKennie free with a well-struck pass down the right channel, and McKennie managed to cut the ball back to the top of the penalty area. Tessman had been following the play but feigned a shot as McKennie’s pass approached, leaving the ball for Pulisic, who fired a shot from 18 yards off a Jamaican defender and curled it home. US 2, JAM 0

USA — Ricardo Pepi (Antonee Robinson), 42nd minute: Tim Weah and Robinson controlled a clearance from Jamaican Andre Blake and Robinson found Pepi at the top of the Jamaican penalty area. Pepi turned the ball on with two touches and fired a low shot from 20 yards past the diving Blake and inside the right post. US 3, JAM 0

JAM — Demarai Gray (Isaac Hayden), 53rd minute: Jamaica worked the ball down the US left and Leon Bailey found Hayden on the right side of the penalty area. Hayden, who made his first start for the Reggaeboyzmanaged to cut the ball back past a recovering Christian Pulisic before firing the ball towards the penalty spot. Gray jumped and fired an acrobatic shot past Matt Turner. US 3, JAM 1

USA — Tim Weah (Yunus Musah), 56th minute: An American build-up that started with Joe Scally and ran through Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic left 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 brought the ball down and fired a right-footed shot off the bounce over Andrew Blake. US 4, JAM 1

JAM — Demarai Gray, 68th minute: As the game lengthened, substitute Renaldo Cephas found enough space on the left and held off American right-back Joe Scally long enough to send an effort towards goal. Matt Turner dived to his left and made the save, but the ball bounced off Antonee Robinson and into the path of Gray, who tapped in the rebound from just beyond the six-yard box. USA 4, JAM 2 DEFINITION

– US men’s team match report –

Agreement: United States Men’s National Team vs. Jamaica
Date: November 18, 2024
Competition: Concacaf Nations League Quarter-Finals – Stage 2
Location: CITY PARK; St. Louis, Mo.
Presence: 21,080
Kick-off: 7:00 PM local (8:00 PM ET)
Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy

Setups:
USA: 1-Matte Turner; 22-Joe Scally, 4-Mark McKenzie, 13-Tim Ream (captain), 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 (captain); 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

Summary of Statistics: USA/JAM
Shots: 16/9
Shots on target: 7/6
Saves: 4/3
Corners: 3/1
Errors: 13 / 3
Offside: 2 / 4

Summary of misconduct:
No

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)

Michelob Ultra Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic