CHICAGO (Nov. 13, 2024) — The journey toward next year's Concacaf Nations League Finals and Concacaf Gold Cup begins Thursday evening in Kingston, Jamaica, where the U.S. Men’s National Team will meet the host Reggae Boyz in the first leg of their two-game Nations League quarterfinal.
It will be the USA’s first competitive match under head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was hired in September and then managed the team for the first time in a pair of October friendlies.
Broadcast coverage of Thursday’s game, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, will be available on TNT, TruTV, Universo, Max, Peacock and Fútbol de Primera Radio.
Fans can also follow the match via Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer app.
Thursday’s showdown at the National Stadium, located in Kingston’s Independence Park, will open a two-leg, aggregate goal series that will conclude Nov. 18 at CITYPARK in St. Louis, Mo. The winner will book passage to both the Nations League Finals next March and the Gold Cup—the continental championship tournament—in June and July.
DETAILED USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona Atlètic/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 47/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 15/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 64/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 23/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 48/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 30/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 17/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 46/8), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 15/1), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 17/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 56/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 9/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 43/1), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 4/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 16/0)
FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (Chivas de Guadalajara/MEX; 10/1),Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 31/11), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 74/31), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey/MEX; 9/4), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 41/6), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 9/1)
LAST TIME OUT
The Pochettino era began Oct. 12 in Austin, Texas, where the USA defeated Panama, 2-0, at Q2 Stadium. Midfielder Yunus Musah scored his first USMNT goal—in his 42nd appearance—four minutes into the second half off an assist from AC Milan teammate Christian Pulisic. Ricardo Pepi notched the second in stoppage time and goalkeeper Matt Turner earned his 26th international shutout.
The victory snapped the USA’s four-game winless run and made Pochettino the fourth USMNT manager in the modern era (since 1990) to win on his debut. He joined Bora Milutinović (1991), Bob Bradley (2007) and Gregg Berhalter (2019).
After several injuries and other considerations, a total of five players returned to their clubs following the Panama match. The Americans then traveled to Guadalajara for their first friendly on Mexican soil since 2012. On Oct. 15 at the Estadio Akron, the USA fell to El Tri, 2-0, on goals by Raúl Jiménez and César Huerta. The loss snapped a record seven-game unbeaten streak (5W-0L-2D) against Mexico dating back to 2019.
The USA is 4W-6L-2D in 2024 and currently ranked 18th in the world by FIFA.
AGAINST JAMAICA
The USA holds a 23W-3L-10D advantage in the all-time series against Jamaica, which began in 1988, and is on a 5W-0L-2D run since losing a friendly to the Reggae Boyz, 1-0, on June 5, 2019 in Washington D.C.
Recent meetings have been close, however, as Jamaica has emerged as one of the Caribbean’s most consistently competitive side. At the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, the USA needed an 83rd-minute goal from Matthew Hoppe to win a quarterfinal in Arlington, Texas. In October 2021, the Americans prevailed, 2-0, in a World Cup qualifier in nearby Austin thanks to two second-half goals by Ricardo Pepi.
The next three matches finished 1-1 after 90 minutes. The teams split the points in a November 2021 World Cup qualifier in Kingston and then a 2023 Gold Cup group stage game in Chicago, where Brandon Vazquez tallied an 88th-minute equalizer. The most recent meeting was on March 31, 2024 in a 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League semifinal in Arlington. The USA yielded a first-minute goal and trailed throughout, before forcing extra time with a 96th-minute own goal. Haji Wright then notched a brace to send the Americans through to the final, where they beat Mexico.
The Americans’ record at “The Office” in Kingston is 3W-1L-6D. The November 2021 qualifier was their only visit in the past decade. The three victories came in friendlies played in 1994 and 2003 and then a World Cup qualifier on June 7, 2013. That was a tight affair as well, with Seattle Sounders midfielder Brad Evans scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time.
THE COMPETITION BEGINS
The USMNT’s final two fixtures of 2024 will set the stage for a crucial 2025. As a co-host, the USA qualifies automatically for the 2026 World Cup. There are no qualifying matches to contest. That leaves the Nations League and Gold Cup as the program’s only competitive opportunities before the summer of 2026. Making the most of those tournaments will be critical, and beating Jamaica this month is the key to both.
Launched in 2019, the Nations League was designed to provide additional competitive games for Concacaf’s 41 members while establishing a consistent and inclusive Gold Cup qualifying framework. It’s played in three tiers—A, B and C—with promotion and relegation. A single-elimination final four then determines a champion. The USA has won each of the first three Nations League titles.
All Concacaf teams, including the USMNT, participated in group play during the first two editions. From 2023-24 (the third edition), the top four nations in Concacaf’s ranking received a bye to a new home-and-away quarterfinal round, where they’re joined by four qualifiers from League A.
The quarterfinal round serves two purposes, sending the winner to both the Nations League final four and the next Gold Cup. If the USA defeats Jamaica, it will advance to the 2025 Nations League Finals, which will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. on March 20 and 23. It also will confirm its place in the 16-team Gold Cup, the biennial Concacaf championship, running from June 14 to July 6.
If the Americans fall to Jamaica, they’ll miss out on the Nations League final four and contest a Gold Cup qualifying playoff instead.
Mexico, Canada, USA and Panama—ranked in that order by Concacaf—received a bye to this month’s Nations League quarterfinals. Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica and Suriname advanced from their groups in League A. Quarterfinal matchups were determined by ranking and group stage performance. They are as follows:
USA vs. Jamaica
Nov. 14 at National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica
Nov. 18 at CITYPark, St. Louis, Mo.
Mexico vs. Honduras
Nov. 15 at Estadio Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Nov. 19 at Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico
Canada vs. Suriname
Nov. 15 at Frank Essed Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname
Nov. 19 at BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Panama vs. Costa Rica
Nov. 14 at Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica
Nov. 18 at Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama
Semifinal matchups will be determined based on the quarterfinal winners’ results.
The USA is 13W-2L-1D all-time in Nations League play and lifted the trophy in each of the first three editions (2019-21, 2022-23 and 2023-24).
POCHETTINO THE INTERNATIONAL
Although this is Mauricio Pochettino’s first foray into national team coaching, the former central defender represented his native Argentina 20 times as a player from 1999 through 2002, scoring twice.
He made his debut under coach Marcelo Bielsa in a friendly against the Netherlands on March 31, 1999 and that June, he went 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to the USA in Washington D.C. He was part of Argentina’s 1999 Copa América squad and made two appearances, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 group stage win over rival Uruguay and then starting the 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Brazil.
Pochettino emerged as a more frequent starter during Argentina’s stretch run in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. He then started and played all 90 minutes in each of Argentina’s three matches at the World Cup in Japan.
As a coach, Pochettino’s international tournament résumé is highlighted by Tottenham’s’ run to its first UEFA Champions League final in 2019. Spurs finished second in a difficult group that included Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven. They then survived a knockout-stage gauntlet that included Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax before losing to Liverpool in the final. Tottenham successfully navigated the group stage in four of Pochettino’s five full seasons of European competition: the Europa League in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and the Champions League in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
In his season and a half with Paris Saint-Germain, Pochettino reached the Champions League semis in 2021 with knockout stage defeats of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. PSG lost to Real Madrid in the round-of-16 in 2022.
ROSTER NOTES
- The USMNT’s 25-man roster had an average age of 25 years, 13 days as of the first day of training on Nov. 11. It has an average of 26 caps and 18 in official competition.
- The 25 players represent clubs in nine different countries: England (5), Italy (5), USA (4), Mexico (3), France (2), Netherlands (2), Spain (2), Germany (1), Scotland (1).
- Twenty players were part of the team’s October camp, with goalkeeper Diego Kochen, defender Chris Richards, midfielder Johnny Cardoso and forwards Cade Cowell and Tim Weah getting their first looks under Pochettino.
- Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic and Matt Turner share the team lead with 10 caps in 2024.
- Christian Pulisic (74) is the leading cap-winner, followed by Tim Ream (64), Weston McKennie (56) and Antonee Robinson (48). If Robinson earns his 50th cap this month, he’ll become the 62nd USMNT player to reach the milestone. The others with exactly 50 are Paul Arriola and Mike Windischmann.
- Pulisic is also the leading goal scorer on the roster with 31 goals. He’s followed by Weston McKennie (11), Ricardo Pepi (11), Brenden Aaronson (8) and Tim Weah (6).
- Weston McKennie leads all USMNT players with 14 career Nations League appearances and six goals. Christian Pulisic has five Nations League goals.
- No active member of the USMNT player pool has more than two career goals against Jamaica. Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright have two apiece (all braces in a single game). Jordan Morris, whose most recent caps came at the 2023 Gold Cup, also has two. Brenden Aaronson, Weston McKennie, Brandon Vazquez and Tim Weah have also scored against the Reggae Boyz.
- Tuesday, Nov. 5 was a record-breaking day for Americans in the UEFA Champions League, as an unprecedented nine players took the field in Europe’s most elite club competition. Their teams went 4W-0L-1D. Eight are on the current roster while the ninth, Borussia Dortmund forward Cole Campbell, will spend the November window with the Under-20 Men’s National Team.
- Forward Malik Tillman was UEFA’s Player of the Match on Nov. 5 as he tallied one goal and two assists in PSV Eindhoven’s 4-0 home win over Girona. The 22-year-old now has six goals and four assists for PSV in 17 games in all competitions this season.
- Christian Pulisic also enjoyed a memorable Nov. 5 as he set up AC Milan’s opening goal in a 3-1 win at reigning champion Real Madrid. The Hershey, Pa. native remains red hot for the Rossoneri, racking up a team-leading seven goals and five assists in 15 matches across all competitions.
- Christian Pulisic has been involved in 31 goals in official Concacaf competitions (20 goals, 11 assists), tied with Jozy Altidore for third-most among USMNT players (Landon Donovan-68, Clint Dempsey-40). The USA has won the past 10 official Concacaf matches in which Pulisic was involved in a goal.
- Ricardo Pepi notched one goal and one assist in PSV Eindhoven’s 3-0 Eredivisie win over NAC Breda on Nov. 9, taking his total to seven goals and one assist in 16 matches across all competitions.
- Tim Weah has found his form with Juventus, tallying three goals and one assist in his past five appearances. He scored in Serie A games against Inter Milan (Oct. 27), Parma (Oct. 30) and city rival Torino (Nov. 9). Weah is suspended for the first game against Jamaica because of a red card he received during the group stage match against Panama at this summer’s Copa América.
- Eleven players are age 23 and younger: Johnny Cardoso, Patrick Schulte and Tanner Tessmann (23); Gianluca Busio, Aidan Morris and Malik Tillman (22); Cade Cowell, Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, and Joe Scally (21); Diego Kochen (18).
- Seventeen players are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with 13 produced by MLS Academies: Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union), Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Diego Kochen (Weston FC) Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics), Chris Richards (FC Dallas), Miles Robinson (FC Boston Bolts), Joe Scally (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (St. Louis Scott Gallagher, Saint Louis FC), Zack Steffen (Philadelphia Union), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union), Tim Weah (New York Red Bulls) and Alex Zendejas (FC Dallas).
USA-JAMAICA NOTES
- The USA’s 23W-3L-10D all-time record against Jamaica includes a 13W-2L-8D mark in official competition and a 1W-0L-0D record in the Nations League.
- The USA’s 20 wins over Jamaica are its third-most against a single opponent, behind Mexico (24) and Trinidad & Tobago (22).
- Thursday’s match will be the 14th competitive meeting between the USMNT and Jamaica since 2011, with the Americans 9W-2L-2D in the previous 13. The only opponent the USMNT has faced more often in competitive matches since 2011 is Panama (15).
- With a 3W-1L-6D all-time record against Jamaica in Kingston, the USA has avoided defeat in 90% of those matches. That’s the USMNT’s highest percentage of defeat avoidance in away games against any team it has visited at least three times.
- The USA and Jamaica have met in a two-game, aggregate goals series once previously. The sides had never played each other when they were drawn to face off in the second round of Concacaf’s 1990 World Cup qualifying competition (which doubled as the 1989 confederation championship). The opener in Kingston on July 24, 1988 finished 0-0, leaving the USA needing a result in the return leg in Fenton, Mo., to progress. The Aug. 13 match at what is now World Wide Technology Soccer Park was tied, 1-1, at the hour mark, but the USA then pulled away and ran out 5-1 winners. Nearly two years later, after negotiating Concacaf’s final round, the USMNT made its modern-era World Cup debut in Italy.
- The first competitive road match for USMNT managers has proven difficult as only two full-time USMNT head coaches have won: Bob Bradley (at Barbados in 2008) and Steve Sampson (at Trinidad & Tobago in 1996). Full-time USMNT managers are 2W-12L-4D in their first competitive away game.
- The USA has won only two of its past 16 competitive away matches (2W-7L-7D) dating back to November 2016, including a 2-1 loss at Trinidad & Tobago in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal second leg—its most recent competitive away game. The USMNT has lost consecutive competitive away matches only once since 2010, doing so in 2017 and 2019 at Trinidad & Tobago and then Canada.
JAMAICA ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union/USA; 79/0), Shaquan Davis (Mount Pleasant; 1/0), Jahmali Waite (El Paso Locomotive/USA; 13/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Amari’i Bell (Luton Town/ENG; 19/1), Di’shon Bernard (Sheffield Wednesday/ENG; 18/1), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC/USA; 7/0), Mason Holgate (West Bromwich Albion/ENG; 2/0), Richard King (Cavalier; 20/0), Greg Leigh (Oxford United/ENG; 21/1), Dexter Lembikisa (Yverdon Sport/SUI; 21/1), Damion Lowe (Al Okhdood/KSA; 69/3), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford/ENG; 17/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Karoy Anderson (Charlton Athletic/ENG; 11/0), Isaac Hayden (Newcastle United/ENG; 0/0), Joel Latibeaudiere (Coventry City/ENG; 21/0), Tyreek Magee (Colorado Springs Switchbacks/USA; 12/0), Kasey Palmer (Hull City/ENG; 12/0)
FORWARDS (7): Michail Antonio (West Ham United/ENG; 21/5), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa/ENG; 30/5), Renaldo Cephas (Ankaragücü/TUR; 10/0), Kaheim Dixon (Charlton Athletic/ENG; 11/2), Demarai Gray (Al Ettifaq/KSA; 18/5), Shamar Nicholson (Spartak Moscow/RUS; 54/19), Romario Williams (Indy Eleven/USA; 22/4)
JAMAICA OF LATE
Jamaica is 6W-4L-3D in 2024 and has slipped slightly from 55th to 61st in FIFA’s ranking during the year. It’s been a busy period, as the Reggae Boyz kicked off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, played in the Copa América and contested both the 2023-24 Nations League finals and the 2024-25 group stage, with mixed results.
Jamaica rebounded from the Nations League semifinal loss to the USA in March and claimed bronze with a 1-0 win over Panama. It rode that momentum into June and its first two World Cup qualifiers: one-goal victories over Dominican Republic and Dominica. At 2W-0L-0D, the Reggae Boyz are tied with Guatemala atop their five-team group, from which two will advance to next year’s 12-team third round.
Jamaica struggled at the 2024 Copa América, however, losing to Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela and scoring just once. Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson resigned and was replaced by Steve McLaren.
In September and October, Jamaica went 2W-0L-2D in Nations League group play, yielding just one goal in the process and finishing atop its six-team group. Notably, the two draws occurred in Kingston— goalless games against Cuba and Honduras—while the two wins came on the road.
Spartak Moscow forward Shamar Nicholson leads the Reggae Boyz with three goals in 2024. West Ham United’s Michail Antonio and Charlton Athletic’s Kaheim Dixon have two each.
This month marks the international return of Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey, who hasn’t played for Jamaica since appearing in the 2023-24 Nations League quarterfinals one year ago. He has five goals in 30 career international matches.
AT THE HELM
Former England national team coach native Steve McLaren, 63, was hired to manage Jamaica on July 31. He most recently worked with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and hadn’t been a head coach since leaving Queens Park Rangers in spring 2019.
McLaren is Jamaica’s fourth European manager of the 2000s, following former USMNT coach Bora Milutinović (2006-07), Germany’s Winfried Schäfer (2013-16) and Iceland’s Hallgrímsson (former England international John Barnes, a Kingston native, also coached the Reggae Boyz in 2008-09).
McLaren initially made his name in coaching circles as an assistant to Alex Ferguson at United and has managed clubs in England, Netherlands and Germany over the past 23 years. He led his first club, Middlesbrough, to an EFL Cup title in 2004 and then a Cinderella run to the 2006 UEFA Cup final, where it lost to Sevilla. He also won the Dutch Eredivisie crown with FC Twente in 2009-10.
The English FA appointed McLaren to succeed Sven-Göran Eriksson following the 2006 World Cup. McLaren endured a rough start to his England tenure, which put qualification for Euro 2008 in jeopardy. Three straight wins in the fall of 2007 lifted the Three Lions back into contention, however, but subsequent defeats to Russia and then Croatia—the latter a 3-2 setback at Wembley Stadium—sealed their fate. McLaren was fired, and England hasn’t missed a major tournament since.
McLaren rebounded with success at Twente and subsequently spent time coaching and/or consulting at VfL Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Twente again, Derby County (three times), Newcastle United, Maccabi Tel Aviv, QPR and Manchester United.
McLaren and Pochettino opposed each other on an English sideline on Dec. 13, 2015, when McLaren’s Newcastle shocked Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur, 2-1, at White Hart Lane. Spurs had been on a 14-game unbeaten run in Premier League play while Newcastle was stuck in the relegation zone. The result wasn’t an omen. McLaren was dismissed three months later, while Pochettino guided Tottenham to a third-place finish and Champions League qualification.
