ST. LOUIS – The U.S. men’s national team put on a show Monday night in a 4-2 win over Jamaica to advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League for the fourth consecutive year.

The US went into the evening with a goal advantage from Thursday’s first leg, but played some of their best football of the past year, taking a three-goal lead into halftime before clinching the win.

Possession was smooth and controlled for the first 45 minutes and Jamaica looked overwhelmed. Christian Pulisic opened things up in the 14th minute when he neatly finished a long ball from Weston McKennie and then set up the second goal in the 33rd minute after a nice combination on the right, in which McKennie’s pass was dumped over the middle by The shot from Tanner Tessmann and Pulisic ended up in the far post via a deflection.

Ricardo Pepi made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute with a far-post finish from just above the penalty area, and Tim Weah added a fourth in the second half. Jamaica scored either side of the Weah goal, but the US was largely in control of the match.

It was a resounding victory in Mauricio Pochettino’s first competitive home game as national coach.

The US will play in the Nations League semi-finals in March as it looks to defend a three-straight title streak. Panama is also ready, while the other two ties – Suriname-Canada and Honduras-Mexico – will be decided on Tuesday.

Tim Weah celebrates his goal for the US against Jamaica. (Bill Barrett/Getty Images)

USMNT stars stand out

As the US prepares for the 2026 World Cup it will co-host with Canada and Mexico, its hopes will depend largely on the biggest players on the team. Pulisic has been the star of the team, but McKennie has played a crucial role in several positions over the last cycle and a half, and Weah has been a quietly productive player.

Monday night against Jamaica, it was that trio of players that led the US to victory.

Pulisic scored the opener and his shot was deflected, setting up the second goal. He also set up the fourth goal by holding off a Jamaican defender and tapping the ball to Yunus Musah, whose cross found Weah for the finish.

Weah, making his first appearance for the US since his costly red card in the Copa America against Panama in June, was also consistently dangerous when paired with Pulisic on the left wing.

McKennie has played a senior central role under Pochettino in this period and said this week that he is seizing the opportunity to be more dangerous. Against Jamaica on Monday, he proved that passing can sometimes be his best quality. McKennie picked out Pulisic to finish the first goal and his centering cross set up the second.

Pulisic and McKennie left together in the 69th minute to a huge ovation from the home crowd.

One of the most interesting parts of the first half performance was how the US built up possession when it had the ball.

Left back Antonee Robinson moved centrally into an inverted role alongside Tessmann, and Musah dropped from a right midfield role to a lower position. Right-back Joe Scally then moved higher. On the left, Pulisic entered wide the area vacated by Robinson, while Weah remained in his position as a left winger above Pulisic.

The rotation seemed to confuse Jamaica and created space for Pulisic and Weah in particular to cause problems on the left. That eventually created more space on the right and McKennie took advantage to help create the second goal.

It was a new look from the US under Pochettino, but one that seemed to neutralize Jamaica’s wing play by pulling players out of position and creating more space for Pulisic to try and combine and create in dangerous spaces.

The US changed that build-up in the second half, with Pulisic continuing to play a more central role.

Tanner Tessman continued his strong performances on the field in the second match against Jamaica. (Bill Barrett/Getty Images)

Tessmann looks solid

Tessmann was handed his second start in midfield under Pochettino, making a solid shift into a central role as he looks to stake his claim for a job with the US team.

The US are looking for more options in midfield to create competition centrally, especially with Pochettino opting to play Musah in a wide role and Tyler Adams still working his way back to fitness. Tessmann was called up late to October camp but had a solid performance in the loss to Mexico, which earned him more opportunities this month.

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Tessmann was on a roll in Jamaica last week – Pochettino said you could see his huge potential – and the former FC Dallas home side put in another strong performance in the home leg, alongside McKennie. He completed 73 of 74 passes, made five recoveries, won two duels and one interception and his dummy helped set up the US’s second goal, freezing Jamaican defenders and allowing Pulisic to get his shot on net.

What’s next?

Pochettino won’t get the chance to work with his top group of players again until the semi-finals in March, but the US will hold a camp in January and play friendlies as part of that, including against Venezuela on January 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(Top photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images)