USMNT Settles For 1-1 Draw Against Jamaica in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

Timothy Weah with USMNT
Timothy Weah with USMNT. Photo by Brad Smith/ISI/REX/Shutterstock

The United States men’s national team lost the top spot in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings after playing a 1-1 draw with Jamaica on Tuesday night. By failing to pick up all three points, the USMNT slid to second place and now sit one point behind Canada.

The game started in the best possible fashion for the USMNT as they needed only 11 minutes to get the lead. Lille forward Timothy Weah sliced through Jamaica’s defense, entered the penalty box, and found a way to put the ball in the net from a tough spot.

However, the U.S. didn’t manage to hold onto the lead for too long. Just 10 minutes later, West Ham’s striker Michail Antonio responded with an equally impressive goal. Antonio received the ball outside the box and delivered a powerful shot to the upper right corner that left keeper Zack Steffen helpless.

The remainder of the match saw both teams trying to get the second goal. Jamaica arguably had better chances and even scored in the 84th minute via Damion Lowe, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul.

“Any time you can get a point away from home is a good thing in CONCACAF qualifying,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “For the guys to have their heads down because we wanted more is completely natural.”

USMNT is currently in a good position to make the 2022 World Cup, but there are still six games left to be played. While being one point shy to top the standings, the U.S. also has just one point in hand compared to Mexico at number three and Panama at number four.

Jamaica, on the other hand, is sixth with seven points and doesn’t have realistic chances to qualify.