Two victories stands in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s way of repeating as Concacaf Gold Cup champions.
Gregg Berhalter’s side face a familiar foe in Jamaica on Wednesday night in the second semifinal tie. The winner will face Mexico on July 7th at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Despite a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Curacao on Sunday in Philadelphia, the USMNT looked sloppy as a whole. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Zack Steffen excelled but the rest could not be said about the remaining players on the pitch.
Rockin' and Rollin' in Music City 🎶💥
With a spot in the #GoldCup2019 Final on the line, your #USMNT Starting XI to take on 🇯🇲!
Lineup Notes 📰: https://t.co/3hW15K4gM7 pic.twitter.com/EUzx6bmxoZ
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) July 4, 2019
It will be the second meeting with Jamaica this calendar year after the USWNT suffered a 1-0 friendly loss to the Reggae Boyz in D.C. in early June. Jamaica defeated Panama 1-0 also on Sunday, with Darren Mattocks and Andre Blake the key performers.
The SBI editorial staff will be providing live commentary on this evening’s match so feel free to follow the action here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions (NOT play-by-play commentary) in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match.
This tournament made me do a 360 on Bradley. Dude playing hard out there.
88′- Lovitz on for Arriola as the USMNT goes full defense in the final minutes.
I don’t route against any US players, but good God, time and time again, Zardes proves he just doesn’t belong. Missing the entire frame when wide open. Repeatedly giving the ball away. Losing tackles. It’s so hard to watch. I feel for the guy, but it’s got to be exasperating for his teammates.
Root
It was hard to watch …
87′- Goal USMNT! It’s Pulisic again with another rebound finish. Nice shot from Arriola to start it off and once again Pulisic is in the right place for a calm, composed finish to really quell the nerves in this one.
85′- Paul Arriola has been… meh… tonight.
84′- Watson is very lucky to still be on the pitch after that late challenge on Zardes. That should have been a second yellow.
81′- That was a poor free kick from Pulisic. He knows he should do better there.
zardes*
78′- The USMNT have the time to be patient here and they know it. They are concentrating on keeping possession, knowing that a sloppy turnover can give Jamaica the break they need.
77′- Almost one cue, Michael Bradley manages to float one over the defense to pick out Jordan Morris. The pass doesn’t quite have enough loft on it to spring the Sounders forward, but the idea was there at least.
75′- Jamaica really committing to the man marking in the midfield and making it tough for the USMNT to play out the back. Bradley carried the ball all alone for a while and he had nowhere to go with it. He eventually tried to get it wide and it led to a turnover. Returning to the long ball to stretch the Jamaican defense might not be a bad idea.
Sarees is headless chicken.
71′- The USMNT probably got a little too passive and stopped playing their game. No reason to think they can’t ramp up the tempo once again and get their insurance goal back as Jamaica continues to press forward.
69′- Goal for Jamaica. The USMNT gets lazy on defense and fails to mark Nicholson on Bailey’s cross. It’s the first time the USMNT have conceded at the Gold Cup and it gives the Reggae Boyz some life.
68′- USMNT in game management mode as they try to wrap this up. Bradley sitting further back in a holding midfield role as a result. He’s quietly had a strong game tonight.
66′- Really hard to imagine Jamaica getting back into this one. The USMNT defense has been solid all tournament long and it doesn’t look like the Reggae Boyz have what it takes to break them down. They’ve come close a couple times, but I can’t say they’ve truly threatened at all.
57′- Gyasi Zardes doesn’t take long to get involved. Once again McKennie delivers a perfect pass, but Zardes couldn’t get the shot on frame. Spoiler Alert: McKennie is the MOTM tonight.
55′- Aaron Long with some theatrics to get that call. Yeah, he got clipped, but it wasn’t as bad as he made it seem. Mattocks has a right to be upset.
55′- Aaron Long with some theatrics to get at call. Yeah, he got clipped, but it wasn’t half as dramatic as he made it seem. Mattocks has a right to be a bit upset.
53′- Weston McKennie is ballin’ tonight. That was a heck of a ball to pick out the Morris run.
52′- Goal USMNT! Jordan Morris collects a through pass and gets around his man. His shot is stopped, but Pulisic is there to bury the rebound.
Assorted First Half Musings:
-The pace slowed down after the thunderstorms, but the USMNT was still in control of the game and didn’t allow a true opportunity for Jamaica
-While the lineup may be a bit different, the USMNT tactical setup is more or less the same as it has been for most of the tournament. Reggie Cannon is playing the exact same role Nick Lima had been for the first four games. The formation morphs from a 4-3-3 without the ball, to a 3-4-3 with the ball as Cannon flies forward into a midfield spot. Later on they even showed glimpses of a 4-4-2 setup with Arriola tracking back a little more into the midfield and Morris moving a little more central.
-Playing out of the back is still an issue as Jamaica pressed and the USA midfield didn’t want to create passing lanes. This led to an increase in less efficient long ball passing.
43′- Tempers flaring between Flemmings and Altidore. Both need to keep their heads cool, but Altidore in particular looked pretty enraged and needed to be restrained.
39′- Playing out of the back is getting a little rocky for the USMNT. Jamaica is pressing higher and higher and the American midfield isn’t doing anything to create passing lanes for their defenders. That’s something that needs to be cleaned up going forward.
37′- Pulisic with some slick moves along the touchline to create space for himself. He earns a corner thanks to his fancy footwork, but nothing comes off the chance. Andre Blake, meanwhile, took quite a lick from Matt Miazga while collecting the corner and needs a minute.
30′- A wonderful build up from the USMNT as Bradley picks out a McKennie run, but the kid couldn’t quite get a good shooting angle and his cross is dealt with. That’s more like it.
25th minute, 4 4 2 pressure change fo US 3 qtrs
following the US changing pressure looks is fun and I hope they execute
the changing GB pressure looks are fun to watch. hope they can execute them
26′- I think it’s safe to say that the USMNT hasn’t been able to replicate the effective and entertaining form they had before the storms hit. Jamaica has really settled in since the restart and the Americans have had trouble getting much of anything going. Credit to the Reggae Boyz, who have adjusted their defensive game to compensate for the high tempo USA attack.
23′- Zack Steffen called into action for the first time on the night. Junior Flemmings let a rocket go, but the USMNT keeper was able to parry it away with little trouble.
19′- Jamaica benefited from the delay, it seems. They just experienced their best spell of possession of the match so far, but their shot was well off target.
16′- And they seem to pick up right where they left off. Same level of energy as Morris goes bolting in towards a loose ball. Blake beats him to it, though.
16′- Welcome back! After that lengthy delay we are FINALLY back to live action in Nashville. The USMNT will hope their momentum carried over through the storms.
Let’s get after it! I’m hoping we can see some more if that first 16 minutes
16′- The match is entering a weather delay as there’s thunderstorms in the area. Couldn’t come at a worse time for the USMNT, who have been buzzing from the opening whistle.
different look to the pressure, no deception, 3 high with both supporting lines high. McKennie solving pressure in midfield, always moving and open so far
Not wasting effort pressing the goalie with a 1-0 lead. Much better. Jozy seems to be making a big difference. Weather delay sort of unfortunate for keeping momentum.
15′- Another chance off a set piece for the USMNT. Pulisic’s ball floats to Blake, but his own player knocks him down, causing him to spill the rebound. The ensuing shot was blocked, however, and the chance fizzled. Regardless, the USMNT is in full control of this match.
12′- Pulisic with a heck of a free kick. Andre Blake needed every bit of his reach to keep it from being 2-0 to the USA.
9′- Goal USMNT! Excellent ball movement opens up space through the middle and Weston McKennie takes advantage of it! Michael Bradley starts the move and Jozy Altidore’s deft touch allows the ball to fall to McKennie, who hammers it home.
7′- There really is a lot to like about how the USMNT are playing early on. They are moving quickly and taking advantage of space out wide. Jordan Morris is proving he should have been starting for the last few games. Altidore is playing well, too. Even the young Reggie Cannon is getting involved by blasting a shot into the side netting.
fun to watch. hope to see then keep up the tempo after the lightning break
4′- The USMNT squanders a golden opportunity on a 3 on 2 break. Andre Blake came up huge with the save, but Paul Arriola really should have gotten a better shot away after a great feed from Jordan Morris.
2′- The USMNT looks dangerous early on with some strong wing play from Christian Pulisic. His cross is a little wild though, and nobody could get a solid touch to knock it home.