A place in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Nations League will be at stake Monday when the USA welcome Jamaica to CityPark in St. Louis for leg two of that tie.
The reigning champions of this tournament scored early on Thursday and hung onto a 1-0 victory, giving them the upper hand heading into Monday's contest versus the Reggae Boyz.
Match preview
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It took a mere five minutes for the Yanks to find the back of the net in Kingston Thursday, propelling them to a third successive triumph in this competition dating back to last season.
As a result, Mauricio Pochettino became just the third full-time US manager to win his first competitive away match, joining Bob Bradley and Steve Sampson, who achieved that feat in 2008 and 1996, respectively.
The Americans have a 100% home record in Nations League play, conceding only once in their last five knockout home contests at this tournament.
Monday will be the third time the men play an international fixture at CityPark, earning a shutout victory in their previous two appearances at that venue while winning eight of their 12 matches played in St. Louis all-time, suffering only one defeat.
While they have had tremendous success at this tournament, being the only CONCACAF side to lift this trophy, a victory on Monday would mark just the second time in 2024 that the Americans win consecutive international affairs.
They have had little to no trouble with Caribbean opposition at home in this competition, winning all three encounters against that region by a combined margin of 18-1.
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It was another case of close but no cigar for Jamaica in leg one, proving to be a worthy opponent versus the Americans but failing to win once again.
Three of their last four meetings against them across all competitions ended in a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, with the Reggae Boyz scoring first on two occasions.
Steve McClaren's men have failed to score in three of his five matches at the helm, though the former England manager has won his only two away matches in charge.
The Jamaicans were in a similar position at the quarter-final stage of this tournament last year and showed plenty of resilience, losing their opening home contest versus Canada (2-1) but winning the return engagement 3-2 and advancing on away goals.
This team have never lost a Nations League encounter when netting multiple times, dropping points on only one occasion when doing so (2-2 draw versus Mexico in March 2023).
Jamaica were the last Caribbean side to defeat the Yanks in the United States, claiming a 1-0 victory at Audi Field in a 2019 friendly.
Team News
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The Americans' victory in leg one came at a cost as Johnny Cardoso was taken off after 21 minutes due to a hamstring strain, Aidan Morris sat out after hurting his knee in training, while Folarin Balogun, Brenden Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams and Josh Sargent were all unavailable through injury.
Tim Weah is eligible to return from suspension, while Christian Pulisic became the 33rd American men's player to reach 75 caps on Thursday and only the second to achieve that feat this decade alongside DeAndre Yedlin (2022).
An early strike by Ricardo Pepi was enough for the Americans to claim victory in leg one, with the PSV man joining Pulisic, Landon Donovan and Jozy Altidore as the only US men's players to score a dozen times for the national team before the age of 22.
On Thursday, Jamaica were without Bobby Decordova-Reid, who suffered an Achilles injury in the EFL Cup versus Manchester United for his club side Leicester City, Ethan Pinnock is injured, while Mason Holgate of West Bromwich Albion will be suspended after receiving a pair of second-half cautions.
West Ham Michail Antonio and Kaheim Dixon will not be available for this must-win encounter, having both lost their passports, though Ravel Morrison is available having just returned to action with his club side Precision FC.
Aston Villa's Leon Bailey featured for the Reggae Boyz for the first time since the second leg of their quarter-final Nations League tie with Canada last year, while Isaac Hayden of Newcastle United earned his first appearance with the national team, replacing Greg Leigh to begin the second half.
Demarai Gray had an opportunity to draw his side level in leg one, but Matt Turner denied his penalty, while Shamar Nicholson can surpass Walter Boyd for sixth in all-time goals should he find the back of the net in this one.
USA possible starting lineup:
Turner; Scally, M. Robinson, McKenzie, A. Robinson; Tillman, Busio; Weah, McKennie, Pulisic; Pepi
Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; T. Gray, Bernard, Lowe, Bell, Leigh; D. Gray, Latibeaudiere, Anderson, Bailey; Nicholson
We say: USA 1-0 Jamaica (USA win 2-0 on aggregate)
The Jamaicans have shown they can play the Americans tough, but we do not believe they have enough depth to compete with the US for 90 minutes and turn this tie in their favour.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
