The U.S. men’s national team made an early Ricardo Pepi goal stand up in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Jamaica, giving the Americans a significant advantage heading into the second leg of their two-game, total-goals-wins Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against the Reggae Boyz.
Less than five minutes after the opening whistle, U.S. star Christian Pulisic sprung Pepi behind the hosts back line with a beautiful through-pass, and the striker did the rest with a inch-perfect finish past keeper Andre Blake:
It’s just the second time in eight tries that the USMNT has won a competitive match in Jamaica. The two teams meet again on Monday with a spot in next year’s semis at stake.
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Here are a few quick thoughts on Thursday’s contest.
Play of the game
Pepi took his goal expertly, as he has at almost every opportunity over the last two years for his country and for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.
But it was Pulisic who created the chance by exploding past two Jamaican markers and finding Pepi, who gave the visitors a lead they’d never relinquish.
Turning point
The momentum the U.S. had after pulling ahead was almost squandered in short order when keeper Matt Turner fouled Jamaican forward Shamar Nicholson less than 10 minutes after Pepi’s strike. The referee (correctly) pointed to the penalty spot, but Turner redeemed himself with a spectacular one-handed save to preserve the advantage.
The longtime American No. 1 made another key stop in the second half, parrying a goal-bound corner kick.
Key stat
The 21-year-old Pepi’s goal was his 12th in 32 career caps. He became the fourth USMNT player to score that many before his 22nd birthday, putting the Texan in some amazing company: the other three to accomplish the feat are program greats Pulisic, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan.
What’s next for Jamaica?
The decisive rematch on Monday at City Park in St. Louis, Missouri. As tricky an opponent as the Reggae Boyz have been against the Americans at home over the years, they have strugged stateside with just one win on U.S. soil ever in a game that counted: the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal upset of the tournament hosts.
What’s next for the USMNT?
Winning on the road in Concafaf isn’t easy, which makes Thursday’s result an impressive one for new coach Mauricio Pochettino in just his third outing at the U.S. helm.
Still, though a tie on Monday will now be enough to send the three-time defending champions back to the Nations League final four, USMNT fans can be sure that Pochettino will impress on his players the importance of putting the Jamaicans away in the second leg with a dominant, multi-goal win.
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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