Christian Pulisic opened the scoring as the U.S. men’s national team jumped out to an early lead and advanced to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League with a 4-2 victory in the second leg of the quarterfinal series against Jamaica in St. Louis on Monday.
After Pulisic produced a goal in the 13th minute, his shot in the 33rd minute resulted in an own goal from Di’Shon Bernard. Ricardo Pepi made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute before Demarai Gray scored for Jamaica in the 53rd minute. Timothy Weah responded three minutes later to make it 4-1, but Gray cut the deficit to two again in the 68th.
The United States, which won the total-goals series 5-2 after a 1-0 victory in Jamaica on Thursday, will play in the Nations League Finals next March in Inglewood, Calif. The Americans won the inaugural Nations League in 2021 and the subsequent ones in 2023 and 2024.
Also, the victory earned the USMNT a berth in the CONCACAF Gold Cup from June 14-July 6.
The Nations League and Gold Cup are the only major competitions for the team until the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. automatically qualified for as a co-host along with Mexico and Canada.
Pulisic scored an exquisite shot for the opening goal on Monday, his 32nd for the national team. Weston McKennie lofted a long ball into the box where it bounced once before Pulisic sent a left-footed volley past onrushing goalkeeper Andre Blake.
A little luck helped the U.S. team in the 33rd minute. Pulisic’s shot from the top of the box deflected off the left heel of Bernard, leaving Blake with no chance to make a save.
Pepi scored his 13th goal off the transition with a strike from 18 yards off a pass by Antonee Robinson to go up by three goals.
After Gray scored from the center of the box, Weah settled a cross by Yunus Musah before firing a shot under the bar for his seventh goal. Gray put in a rebound of a shot by Renaldo Cephas for his second tally of the night.
–Field Level Media
