There were laughs, smiles and hugs at full time. St. Louis, in the pouring rain, was a jovial place, 20-plus USMNT players applauding the fans and taking in the scene after what was, in reality, a comfortable victory. And it was something worthy of celebration. This is a reshaped team, under a new manager, doing away with an inferior opponent. It’s hard not to feel good about all of this.
The USMNT were supposed to win here, and still managed to surpass expectations. What started last Thursday in a gusty, ugly, scrappy 1-0 win in Kingston against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals was built upon in a fluid, fun and triumphant 4-2 battering Monday night.
Yes, Jamaica were poor – and yes those two goals conceded will annoy the manager. But these are the kinds of games the USMNT should be winning, and they made it look awfully easy.
It has been clear, for some time now, that this team will live and die with the quality of Christian Pulisic. And he was at the center of it all again on Monday night. He bagged the first, darting between two defenders and meeting Weston McKennie’s pass in stride – and offering a delightful side-footed finish on the half volley. The second and third came shortly after – Pulisic bagged the next one, his deflected effort finding the bottom corner. And his clever run manufactured the third, which Ricardo Pepi will deservedly grab plaudits for after a wonderful spin and lasered effort from outside the box.
But more broadly, this is about Mauricio Pochettino and what might come from this side. So much has been made of his start as U.S. manager. An opening win against Panama last month showed promise, before a resounding loss to Mexico reflected just how tough of an assignment this could be. But if there were any questions – there still are, but just a few – then most were answered as emphatically as possible.
There was a real swagger to this performance, passes zipped around, and the right runs made in correspondence. All of the little things were on display. When Pulisic was clattered early in the second half, a Jamaican center back was greeted with the ire of five white jerseys. There was visible anger when Jamaica pulled a goal back on 53 minutes – and a fourth from Tim Weah to make sure the lead stayed steady. There will be remarks made about “resilience” and “fight” and “heart.”
Weah said as much after the game: “Just a lot of grit, playing together as a family. Giving 100 percent for each other. I think that’s we did today. And we can all be happy and look forward to something special.”
And those are all true. But more than anything, this was a team defending its home, and showing a weaker opponent exactly what being the better team should look like. That, if nothing else, is something to build on.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Energizer Park.