Thursday night, March 21, the USMNT advanced to the CONCACAF Nations League Final, beating Jamaica in the first semi-final 3–1 in extra time. They will meet Mexico Sunday, March 24 in AT&T Stadium, Arlington/Dallas, Texas for what should be a highly competitive, exciting rival match.
Against Jamaica the Yanks came out flat with no energy, no real pace as if they thought knocking the ball around laterally ad nauseum, and no attacking through directly, would suddenly make the ball magically go in the Jamaican net. But the exact opposite was the case. Only 30-seconds after the opening whistle Jamaica had a set-piece throw-in deep in the Yanks defensive third. Throwing it almost to the end-line, left wingback Antonee Robinson (Fulham) was beat, the cross went to the far post run of Greg Leigh, who started from the top of the U.S. penalty box, and Leigh headed it past a scrambling Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest). BANG! A dream start for Jamaica, a shocking nightmare start for the Yanks.
The rest of the first half was sheer torture for me to watch because it seemed minutes after their goal the Reggae Boyz went straight into their highly disciplined, defensive 5-4-1 setup. Icelandic Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had Jamaica superbly organized in the back with dual defensive midfielders protecting the middle in front of their three center backs. The U.S. had no answer creatively through the “bus” or over the Jamaican bus. To make matters worse, the passing by our boys was messy and not at all sharp. It looked like we just might lose the match if Manager Gregg Berhalter didn’t change tactics and some lack-luster players, especially Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach) who had a mistake-ridden 45 + 1 minutes.
During the half as requested by me to our television in frustration, Scally was brought out and wonderfully replaced with one of my favorites, Giovanni Reyna (Nottingham Forest, on loan). The impact of Reyna was immediate for the Yanks. Here are the highlights from streaming service Paramount+. Hope all of you in the U.K., Brasil, and South Africa can watch them:
The brightest spot of the game? Three players: Malik Tillman (PSV, on loan), Haji Wright (Coventry City), and Gio Reyna, my Man of the Match.
Up next? Mexico. And it will be a feisty, heated game for sure. It won’t be easy for us against Mexico even being the home team in Arlington/Dallas, TX, USA. Why? Because when Mexico plays in the U.S. they are typically still the home team due to their fanatical fans both here and visiting-traveling to Mexico’s games. 😡 They almost always outnumber American soccer fans by a huge margin unless playing so far north in the U.S. such as Columbus, OH, or Chicago, IL, or Seattle, WA, the Mexican fans can’t travel so far north. If you noticed in the above highlights the many empty seats in AT&T Stadium against Jamaica, that’s what I am talking about. It is infuriating and sad for the USMNT and our poor level of support when it comes to our biggest rivals, Mexico.
Nevertheless, it will be an exciting game. Many football/futebol analysts are picking the U.S. to lift the championship trophy once again for a third time. GO USA!!! 🇺🇸 ⚽ 🇺🇸
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