USMNT vs Jamaica: Key Storylines, Box Score Predictions for Nations League 2024 | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The United States men’s national team will play its first important match under manager Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday evening.

The USMNT visit Jamaica in the first leg of a two-leg quarter-final in the Concacaf Nations League.

The Americans shared their first two friendly matches under Pochettino in September. They won at home against Panama and lost on the road in Mexico with a depleted team.

Thursday’s match begins a two-match series during November’s international break with Jamaica. The winner of the series will advance to the Nations League semi-finals, to be held in March.

Date: Thursday November 14

Thursday is the first real test of the Pochettino era.

It will be one of the rare opportunities the USMNT gets to play in a competitive environment on home soil ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The USMNT’s bare minimum expectation is to win everything at the continental level, and that includes the Nations League since it was introduced in 2019. The USMNT is three-for-three in Nations League titles.

The regular star cast will be available for Pochettino on Thursday. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson are among the players in the starting line-up.

Goalkeeper and striker remain the most difficult positions within the USMNT talent pool.

Matt Turner and Zack Steffen were two of the four goalkeepers called up for November’s Nations League matches. There are two other young netminders in camp, but they are not expected to start above the two international veterans.

Pochettino may be willing to split the starts in November between Turner and Steffen, who have 76 caps between them, but no clear No. 1 goalkeeper has yet emerged.

At forward, Ricardo Pepi should be the given option that was available for the November selection. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are both currently dealing with injuries.

Pepi could use the Nations League quarter-finals as his chance to shine for the new manager. He scored 11 goals in 31 international matches and scored six goals in the Eredivisie for PSV this season.

Brandon Vazquez is the other candidate to start at the top. The Monterrey striker is not in the blistering form he was in last year’s Liga MX, but he does have three goals in six games in the new Liga MX campaign.

Pochettino may be tempted to send his players out with more experience on Thursday before unleashing a more attacking-friendly formation at home on Monday.

Jamaica could be one of the toughest teams to beat with three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in net.

The Reggae Boyz have allowed one goal in their last four games, so don’t expect the Americans to bury a plethora of chances.

A draw in Kingston would be a good result, but if the Americans win it will probably be by a small margin.

Prediction: USMNT 0, Jamaica 0