USMNT beats Jamaica, advances to Nations League semifinals

Weston McKennie assisted on two first-half goals by Christian Pulisic and the U.S. men's national team 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.

Pulisic scored in the 13th and 33rd minutes and 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 U.S. won the total-goals series 5-2 after a 1-0 win in Jamaica on Thursday and will play in the Nations League Finals March 20 and 23 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 to 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 Monday's opening goal. 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 Pulisic score his 33rd goal in his 76th match when his shot from the top of the box deflected off the left heel of Jamaican defender Di'Shon 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