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USMNT analysis

Analysis & Ratings: Pulisic & Weah, & Pepi lift USMNT past Jamaica

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down the USMNT win over Jamaica on Monday night to advance to the Nations League semifinal and put a positive end to a rocky 2024 year. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
November 19, 2024
7:00 AM

THE UNITED STATES MEN’S National team advanced to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League, as expected, with a 4-2 (5-2 aggregate) win over Jamaica on Monday night in St. Louis. While Jamaica scored twice, the result was never in doubt after the U.S. team coasted into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

For the U.S. team, the performances was led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Ricardo Pepi, and a very influential performance from Tanner Tessmann who made massive inroads into the team over the course of both games.

The starting lineup only had one change from the first game with Tim Weah replacing the injured Johnny Cardoso. That move then shifted Yunus Musah centrally as Weah then played in his preferred wing position.

The U.S. team did what it had to do in this game by scoring early to crush Jamaica’s hope for an upset. It came through the usual suspects playing to their strengths in the 13th minute. McKennie hit a pinpoint long ball into the box where it found an onrushing Pulisic for the finish past Andre Blake.

 

In the 33rd minute, the U.S. team made it 2-0 when Pulisic hit a shot that deflected off Di’Shon Bernard and past Blake who was diving the wrong way. After initially being credited to Pulisic, it ended up as an own goal.

Then  in the 42nd minute, it was Ricardo Pepi with a perfect shot from just outside the box who beat Blake to the far post. For Pepi, he has now scored in three of the first four games coached by Mauricio Pochettino.

In the second half, it began to rain hard but the lightening held up and the game was able to be completed. To Jamaica’s credit, they began to fight back after an extremely poor first half. Demarai Gray scored his first of two goals with a lovely volley past turner in the 53rd minute.

The USMNT responded quickly and again crushed the hopes of Jamaica and this time it was perhaps the goal of the night when he took a pass from Musah and smashed it into the top corner for a 4-1 lead.

 

Gray capped the scoring in the 68th minute when he put a rebound past Turner after an initial save on a shot from Renaldo Cephas.

Here are some thoughts on the game.

 

U.S. was good, Jamaica was poor

 

The U.S. team played well in this game. While Jamaica scored twice, the U.S. team dominated possession, passing, and chance creation. The reality, however, is that Jamaica was very poor and disinterested until Gray’s surprising goal.

Jamaica’s Michail Antonio and Kaheim Dixon did not play in the second leg due to a lost Jamaican passport. But things have never always been rosy with Jamaica’s national team. Leon Bailey has taken multiple breaks from the team citing their federation’s lack of standards. The form of their national team has also been up and down. Right now, it is down.

The degree of which the coaching staff and fans can measure progress from beating CONCACAF teams (other than Canada or Mexico) can vary. The U.S. team played well, but it’s also important not get carried away that Pochettino has made strides in solving the team’s problems. Maybe he has, but these games don’t really provide much evidence. It was a fun game to watch, and the team was fluid with its off-the ball movement, its dribbling, and its passing. But what does it mean?

That’s not to be too negative. A win is a win, and it even beating an underperforming team can help with confidence – which the team has lacked. There is still a long road ahead, but ending the year with a nice confidence booster (compared with the end of 2023, which saw an ugly away loss against Trinidad & Tobago) is never bad.

At least the U.S. team isn’t up against it, like Mexico is again.

 

Tessmann and Pepi’s big camp

 

Tanner Tessmann and Ricardo Pepi were the biggest stock risers in this camp – by far. It was refreshing to see two players who were age-eligible for the 2024 U-23 Olympic team (Tessmann was the captain, Pepi stayed with the USMNT) make inroads with Pochettino.

The USMNT needed another midfield presence with Tyler Adams still in recovery. Tessmann was in the mix of players like Gianluca Busio, Aidan Morris, and Johnny Cardoso as players who were on the edge of the team with their foot in the door, but not fully in. Cardoso might have a better club resume, but Tessmann is closing quickly after leading Venezia to promotion and now playing more for Lyon.

But Tessmann looked more in-synch with the USMNT midfield than Cardoso, and Cardoso has been with the team for years now. Tessmann leaves this camp with an edge over his competition. Now he must continue to progress for Lyon. He’s in the driver’s seat.

 

The same thing for Ricardo Pepi. Sure, scoring goals against Panama and Jamaica is not a huge statement. But following the Copa America, the USMNT striker position remained unsettled between Pepi, Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent, and occasionally Haji Wright, when he’s not on the wing. While the other players have been dealing with injuries, Pepi is scoring goals for both club and country.

With a new manager, the players have to earn the trust of the manager. Perhaps Balogun and Sargent can get there and the same goes for Busio, Cardoso, and Morris. But Pepi and Tessmann are there and if the World Cup were starting tomorrow, they would be playing. The others are in an unenviable situation where they have to catch-up.

 

Pulisic & McKennie

 

While Pochettino will gradually make changes to the USMNT roster, find new players, and integrate youth, the success of the team will ultimately come down to the best players on the team.

It’s hard to see the USMNT performing well at the World Cup or against any top team without big contributions from Pulisic and McKennie (and then maybe Sergino Dest and Tim Weah). But Pulisic and McKennie have significant experience in the Champions League and with truly elite teams inside the big four leagues.

Unlike Pulisic, McKennie struggles with his consistency. But his form typically always correlates with the form of the USMNT. When McKennie is not playing well (as he did in the Copa America), the USMNT doesn’t play well. Meanwhile, Pulisic is simply a big game player. He can be counted on delivering like clockwork.

 

After McKennie struggled against Jamaica in the first leg, he was good in the second leg. His duel winning can still be better, but his passing really helped open the game up and make it difficult for Jamaica to defend. Pochettino needs McKennie to be consistent and not fluctuate as much as he does.

But it was good to see Pulisic, McKennie, and Weah happy on the field together for the first time in awhile. Will it continue? It's tough to say. We will find out when it the games become tougher battles. 

Since it is viral, we might as well talk about Pulisic’s celebration after the first goal when he did the “Trump Dance.” In terms of mixing politics and sports, this is generally as mild as it comes. It’s also happening all over the place right now, as shown in the NFL this past weekend.

U.S. Soccer has dealt with a lot of politics, mostly with the USWNT. Sometimes the federation has tried to distance themselves from it. Sometimes they’ve embraced it. Handling a very tame dance shouldn’t be hard for the federation or the fans, even if they didn’t vote for Donald Trump. It’s not some sort of salute, it’s not aimed at putting anyone down, and it’s not disrespectful by itself. With that, it doesn’t cross any line. It would be a shame if people can’t get beyond this.

 

Into 2025

 

After the international windows of September, October, and November, international soccer takes a bit of a break. The USMNT will have its annual January camp outside of a FIFA window. In fact, the only window between now and next summer will take place in March.

While the USMNT won’t be terribly busy between now and the end of May/early June, I would expect Pochettino to be very busy.

This will be the time when he can really study the players and their form with the clubs. He can also start to focus on the broader player pool and see what he has at his disposal. The three windows in the fall were in quick succession and Pochettino elected to make very few changes. He only seemed to change when injuries forced him.

 

Now, club form will probably start to factor into the equation. There could be consequences for players not playing , or not playing well. Different players could also start to emerge. We will also see if any players (likely younger players) catch his eye during January camp.

The first two windows were about Pochettino making sense of the status quo of the team. But now he has a break to make more sense of the broader pool. This winter should mark and important chapter in his tenure with this team.

 

Player Ratings

 

Matt Turner: There wasn’t much he could do on Gray’s volley. Perhaps on the second goal he could have pushed it to a safer position to avoid the rebound, but that would have been tough. He handled everything else well. Rating: 5.5.

Antonee Robinson: The Fulham left back had a very good game as he set up Weah’s opportunity early that hit the post and the assisted Pepi’s goal. Both of these started with a turnover he created. Rating: 7.5

Tim Ream: Playing in his hometown, Ream did very well in his distribution out of the back which sprung several good chances. In total, he was 84/85 in passing which included several deep passes into the attack. He also defended well. Rating: 7.0

Mark McKenzie: Partnering with Ream, McKenzie was busy with 101 touches although he didn’t spring many chances with his passing, and he was beaten by Grey on the opening goal. Rating: 6.0

Joe Scally: It was a pretty quiet effort for Scally, who didn’t set up much and retreated to allow a lot of space on the second Jamaican goal. He did help with possession and was on the ball a lot with 105 touches. Rating: 5.5

Tanner Tessmann: The Lyon midfielder worked very well with his teammates and was often then key ingredient in turning possession into danger. Defensively, he shut down the middle of the field for Jamaica. Rating: 7.5

Weston McKennie: The Juventus midfielder was significantly improved from the first leg and his long pass to assist Pulisic’s opening goal was important. He lost a lot of duels, but he made a big impact in the attack. Rating: 8.0

Yunus Musah: playing more centrally than the first leg, Musah’s dribbling was important to several chances as he broke apart the Jamaican defense to create space. Rating: 7.0

Tim Weah: after serving his suspension for the first leg, Weah was a nightmare for Jamaica to defend. He hit the post in the first half, scored in the second. He had four shots and helped open the game for others with some key passing. Rating: 8.0

Christian Pulisic: another game, another MOTM performance for Pulisic who continues with his incredible season for both club and country. Rating: 8.5

Ricardo Pepi: The USMNT forward scored again and is the leading scorer for the team under Pochettino. Rating: 7.0

 

 

Substitutes

 

Brenden Aaronson: Came into the game in the 69th minute with his typical frantic style but didn’t have much of an impact as it was about possession at this point. Rating: 5.0

Gianluca Busio: Gave the U.S. team more possession as it was seeing the game out when he entered in the 69th minute. Rating: 5.5

Brandon Vazquez: Came into the game in the 79th minute and had two chances to score but didn’t capitalize. Rating: 5.0

Cade Cowell: Also entered the game in the 79th minute and made a few good runs into the box but couldn’t connect with a teammate for a shot. Rating: 5.0

Alex Zendejas: came on late for the final minutes. Rating: NR

 

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