Concacaf Nations League – USA 4-2 Jamaica: Quarter Final Leg 2 – A solid attack leads the USA to victory

The USMNT entered the second leg of their quarter final series against Jamaica in the driver’s seat to advance after winning in Kingston in leg 1. That was not only Mauricio Pochettino’s first win in a competitive match, it was also an away with in Concacaf. An occurrence that was sorely missing under his predecessor. A similar result and a more fluid performance in leg 2 saw the Americans advance on a scoreline of 4-2.

The USMNT set up in it’s 4-2-3-1 and saw Weston McKennie start in place of Johnny Cardoso. Notably, Ricardo Pepi got a second start against Jamaica as the USA looks for a reliable striker.

Jamaica set up in a more attacking formation opting for a 4-2-3-1 as well. The lineup showed the Reggae Boyz need a better performance and to take some risks if they wanted to advance.

GIFS OF A PILE OF GOALS

The game got off to a strong start for the USMNT with Tim Weah firing a shot that hit the post in the 4th minute. The Americans controlled the early going and went ahead in the 15th minute.

Weston McKennie found Christian Pulisic with a long ball that the attacker beat goalkeeper Andre Blake to. His feathered shot off of the bounce found the back of the net and the USA took the lead.

A little under 20 minutes later, Pulisic would find the net again. This time a a pass from McKennie was dummied and found the captain. He sent a shot on goal that was deflected into the goal to make it 2-0.

The USA scored once again as Ricardo Pepi took a pass from Jedi, turned and fired a shot into goal to make it 3-0.

Going into the half, Jamaica’s hopes of advancing were dwindling by the minutes while the USA finished off one of the better halves of soccer in recent memory.

The Reggae Boyz were not totally out of the fight though. Demarai Gray heeled in a fantastic shot off of a leaping volley to make it 3-1. The aggregate came to 4-1 as the Americans were still solidly ahead, but the goal did give Jamaica a lifeline.

Tim Weah answered in a big manner when a cross from Yunus Musah found him in the box. The attacker settled the ball and then fired a shot out of an actual cannon into the net to make it 4-1.

Gray would cut the lead in half in the 68th minute, but by then time was increasingly not on Jamaica’s side.

That would be the last goal of the match as the USA would see out the game. Obviously, the backline has some work to do, but in terms of the attack it was an ideal and impressive performance from the Stars and Stripes. The team advances to the semi-finals with a chance to reach a final and bring home silverware on the line.