The USMNT is back in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals with a chance to win a fourth straight regional title in the spring, and by and large they have their biggest stars to thank for it.
[ USA 4-2 (5-2) Jamaica: Three things we learned ]
Mauricio Pochettino is pushing all the right buttons early on in his USMNT tenure, getting the best out of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson, among plenty of others, which is more than enough to win in CONCACAF 99 times out of 100. Unfortunately, Monday’s victory was the final time the first team will be together until the semifinal round in March, and oh so much can change over the next four months (for better or for worse).
Matt Turner: 5.5 — Perhaps he could have held onto (or at least pushed wide) the initial shot which led to Jamaica’s second goal but Turner was otherwise solid, making four saves in total.
Joe Scally: 6.5 — He’s so good in possession that the lapses on the other side of the ball can be overlooked for now, especially with Yunus Musah there to provide cover.
Mark McKenzie: 6 — It was a clever (and well timed) run by Demarai Gray to score Jamaica’s first goal, but McKenzie ended up not looking great as the only one in a white shirt not close to someone.
Tim Ream: 6.5 — Until someone unseats him, Tim Ream will just keep playing left-sided center back for the USMNT. He’s 37 years old with nearly 600 professional games under his belt, and still hanging on.
Antonee Robinson: 7.5 — There are free roles, and then there is whatever Pochettino bestowed upon Jedi on Monday. The left back spent prolonged stretches winning and advancing the ball on the right wing. I’m sure we’ll see that again as an opponent-specific tactical tweak at some point.
Tanner Tessmann: 7 — The USMNT has a surplus of ball-playing defensive midfielders (a good problem to have), and Tessmann is head and shoulders above the rest (pun intended) when it comes to physicality. Tyler Adams might have to win a starting spot back from Tanner Tessmann.
Weston McKennie: 9 — Who is this guy? McKennie showed passing range (brilliant assist for the first goal) as well as pace and dribbling ability (leading the counter before a would-be assist for the second) we have largely never seen from him. The player we saw Monday night is more than good enough to play Robin to Pulisic’s Batman.
Tim Weah: 8.5 — Well, welcome back, Timothy! Last time we saw you in the red, white and blue, well… you remember. Credit to Weah, though, he kept his head down through it all and has been a bright spot for Juventus this season (4 goals, 1 assist) and had an equally stellar return to the USMNT, combining with Robinson and Pulisic to get free in acres of space a number of times and before scoring in the second half.
Yunus Musah: 6.5 — A less stellar outing as the bulk of attacks came from the left side, but Musah’s work rate and defensive awareness are quickly becoming vital to this team, thus making everything that McKennie did tonight possible. Further to Pochettino’s credit, up and down the entire team there is balance.
Christian Pulisic: 8 — Given even more freedom than usual with Weah the widest man on the left, Pulisic had a hand in just about everything the USMNT did. Whether he got one goal or two almost doesn’t even matter as his influence over this team grows with each star performance.
Ricardo Pepi: 7.5 — If you have ever seen him look more confident than he did tucking away the third goal, please show your evidence. Good club form is carrying over to the national team almost across the board, including the 21-year-old striker who already has 6 goals for PSV this season, on top of 3 goals in his last 3 USMNT appearances.
