Tuesday’s Kickoff from Independence Park Set for 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and Universo
CHICAGO (Nov. 15, 2021) – Reaching the halfway point of World Cup Qualifying in first place in the group, the U.S. Men’s National Team will look to keep its momentum rolling at Jamaica. The USA enters the match in
first place in the Octagonal standings as the showdown with the Reggae Boyz marks the eighth of 14 games during Concacaf’s Final Round of World Cup qualifying. The U.S. topped Jamaica 2-0 during their first Octagonal matchup on Oct. 7 in Austin, TexasTuesday’s kickoff from Independence Park is set for 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and Universo. Fans can follow the USMNT during World Cup qualifying on Twitter (@USMNT), Instagram (@USMNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.
USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 25/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 12/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 5/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 18/1), James Sands (New York City FC; 7/0), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp/BEL; 8/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 70/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 21/2)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 43/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 21/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 7/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 33/8), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 10/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 29/0)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 14/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 41/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 3/2), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 5/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 41/17), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 17/1)
ROSTER UPDATE
Midfielder Weston McKennie (yellow card accumulation) and defender Miles Robinson (red card) were each suspended for one match following the USA’s 2-0 win against Mexico in Cincinnati and have departed camp. As a result, head coach Gregg Berhalter added defender James Sands to the roster for USA-Jamaica. The 21-year-old has made seven appearances for the USMNT this year, including every match of the team’s 2021 Gold Cup championship run. He also started in the team’s 4-1 WCQ win at Honduras on Sept. 8.
USA SCHEDULE - NOVEMBER WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Time (ET)/Result | TV Info |
| Friday, Nov. 12 | Mexico | TQL Stadium; Cincinnati, Ohio | 2-0 W | - |
| Tuesday, Nov. 16 | Jamaica | Independence Park; Kingston, Jamaica | 5 p.m. | Paramount+, Universo |
DOS A CERO
The USMNT wrote another chapter in the storied history of “Dos a Cero” victories against Mexico on Friday night before a sell-out crowd of 26,000 at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium. Dominating after the halftime break, the USA broke things open in the 74th minute as Tim Weah teed up Christian Pulisic just minutes after the Chelsea forward entered the match. Pulisic headed it home in his first game for the USMNT since picking up an injury at Honduras in September World Cup qualifying. Weah also helped set up the insurance goal, putting in a ball for McKennie, who exchanged with forward Jesús Ferreira before slotting his effort inside the 85 th minute to ensure the 2-0 victory.
The win marked the first time that the USA has beaten Mexico three times in a calendar year, with all three victories coming in official competition. The USA is now 5-1-1 in home World Cup qualifying matches against Mexico since the 1998 World Cup cycle, with all five wins coming in the state of Ohio and by 2-0 score lines.
RECORD TYING WIN
If the “Dos a Cero” victory against Mexico wasn’t sweet enough, the result was also the team’s 16th win of 2021, tying the USMNT record set in 2013 for most wins in a calendar year. Still with Tuesday’s WCQ at Jamaica and the December 18 friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina left in 2021, Gregg Berhalter’s side has the opportunity to set a new mark.
Here are the USMNT’s highest win totals in a calendar year:
| Year | Record | Head Coach |
| 2021 | 16-2-2* | Gregg Berhalter |
| 2013 | 16-4-3 | Jurgen Klinsmann |
| 2005 | 13-3-4 | Bruce Arena |
| 2009 | 13-8-3 | Bob Bradley |
| 2007 | 12-5-1 | Bob Bradley |
| 2016 | 12-6-1 | Jurgen Klinsmann |
| 2002 | 12-6-2 | Bruce Arena |
| *Still two USMNT matches remaining in 2021 | ||
BERHALTER FASTEST USMNT COACH TO 30 WINS
Friday’s victory against Mexico was also Gregg Berhalter’s 30th as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, making him the fastest USMNT head coach to achieve that benchmark. He’s now tied with Bora Milutinovic for fourth on the USMNT’s all-time wins list.
| Coach | Games Coached to 30 Wins | Overall Record |
| Gregg Berhalter | 42 | 30-7-5 |
| Bob Bradley | 47 | 43-25-12 |
| Jurgen Klinsmann | 49 | 55-27-16 |
| Bruce Arena | 58 | 81-32-35 |
| Bora Milutinovic | 94 | 30-35-31 |
PULISIC MOVING UP THE SCORING CHARTS
Though still only 23 years old, Christian Pulisic’s tally against Mexico continued to push the attacker up the USMNT’s goal scoring charts. His 74th minute header was the 17th goal overall, tying him with DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley and Earnie Stewart for ninth on the USMNT’s all-time goalscoring list.
The goal also marked his eight in World Cup qualifying, moving him into seventh place among USMNT players in that category.
| USMNT Overall Goals/Caps | USMNT WCQ Goals/WCQ Caps | ||
| Landon Donovan | 57/141 | Jozy Altidore | 18/41 |
| Clint Dempsey | 57/157 | Clint Dempsey | 18/43 |
| Jozy Altidore | 42/115 | Landon Donovan | 13/40 |
| Eric Wynalda | 34/106 | Eddie Johnson | 12/19 |
| Brian McBride | 30/95 | Brian McBride | 10/25 |
| Joe-Max Moore | 24/100 | Earnie Stewart | 9/30 |
| Bruce Murray | 21/85 | Christian Pulisic | 8/16 |
| Eddie Johnson | 19/63 | Michael Bradley | 7/40 |
| Christian Pulisic | 17/41 | DaMarcus Beasley | 6/35 |
| DaMarcus Beasley | 17/126 | Brian Ching | 6/17 |
| Michael Bradley | 17/151 | Willy Roy | 6/11 |
| Earnie Stewart | 17/101 | - | - |
REMATCH WITH THE REGGAE BOYZ
Jamaica is the first opponent that the USMNT is playing twice during the 14 matches of the Octagonal. In the home leg, the USA downed the Reggae Boyz 2-0 on two goals from 18-year-old forward Ricardo Pepi in Austin, Texas, the USMNT’s first World Cup qualifier to be played in the Lone Star State.
Tuesday meeting marks the USA’s fourth matchup with Jamaica this year. The teams met in a friendly in Austria on March 25, a 4-1 win for the U.S. thanks to a pair of goals from Sebastian Lleget and tallies from Sergino Dest and Brenden Aaronson. They also clashed in the Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals, a 1-0 shutout win as Matthew Hoppe netted his first international goal in the 83rd minute en route to the tournament title.
GAINING EXPERIENCE
A total of 26 players have made their World Cup qualifying debut during this cycle, the second-most all-time through the halfway point of the Octagonal. A total of 34 players have earned caps on the road to Qatar, and experience is developing among the player pool. Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson have appeared in all seven matches of the Octagonal thus far, while Reggie Cannon, Jesús Ferreira, Joe Scally and Sam Vines are in their first World Cup qualifying camp. Ferreira made his World Cup qualifying debut on Friday night against Mexico.
JAMAICA IN WCQ
Jamaica is currently sixth in the Octagonal standings at the halfway point of the Final Round of World Cup qualifying, tied on points with Costa Rica and El Salvador after accumulating one win and three draws. In their first match of the November window, the Reggae Boyz played El Salvador to a tight 1-1 draw in San Salvador. Forward Michail Antonio, currently third in scoring in the English Premier League this season with West Ham United, netted in the 82nd minute, but El Salvador’s Alex Roldan, brother of USMNT midfielder Cristian Roldan, equalized in the 90th.
After falling 2-0 to the USA in Austin during the October window, Jamaica played Canada to a 0-0 draw at home and picked up its first win of the Octagonal with a 2-0 win at Honduras. The Reggae Boyz will play five of their remaining seven matches at home.
THE OCTAGONAL
Teams qualify for the World Cup through their regional confederations, and the USMNT has to run the gauntlet of Concacaf (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) to reach Qatar 2022. For the first time, eight teams are contesting the final round of World Cup qualifying for Concacaf from September to March. The nations play a 14-match round-robin, home and away against each of the seven other teams.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the World Cup qualifying schedule has been condensed from 18 months to seven. To accommodate the new schedule, the USMNT has to play three matches during four of the five international windows rather than the usual two matches.
USA ROSTER NOTES
USA ROSTER NOTES
- DeAndre Yedlin became the 33rd player in USMNT history to reach 70 caps on Friday.
- Head coach Gregg Berhalter improved to 30-5-7 as USMNT head coach, tying Bora Milutinovic for fourth place on the all-time wins list.
- Berhalter is the fastest USMNT head coach to reach 30 wins, doing so in 42 matches.
- The win against Mexico took the USMNT’s total number of victories in 2021 to 16, tying the team record originally set in 2013.
- Twenty-six players have made their World Cup qualifying debut through the first seven games of the Octagonal, tied for second-most all-time with the 2006 and 2010 qualifying cycles.
- Fifteen players are age 24 or younger: Antonee Robinson (24); Reggie Cannon, Christian Pulisic (23); Tyler Adams, Mark McKenzie and Sam Vines (22); Brenden Aaronson, Chris Richards, James Sands and Tim Weah (21); Jesús Ferreira (20); Gianluca Busio (19); Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi and Joe Scally (18).
- With his brace last month against Jamaica, 18-year-old Ricardo Pepi became the second youngest USMNT player after Pulisic to score multiple goals in a game and youngest to record goals in back-to-back World Cup Qualifiers.
- Players ply their trade in nine different countries: USA (10), England (3), Germany (3), Belgium (2), Italy (1), Austria (1), France (1), Portugal (1), Spain (1), Turkey (1)
- Right back Joe Scally is the lone first-time call-up. The 18-year-old New York City FC product has had a revelatory start to the season for Borussia Mönchengladbach, starting all 10 Bundesliga matches and earning his first assist in the club’s 2-1 win at Bochum on Sunday. Scally is the seventh player from the USA’s 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup roster to earn a senior team invite and would become the fifth to earn a cap.
- Attacker Brenden Aaronson and midfielder Tyler Adams are the only two players to appear in all seven qualifiers so far this cycle. Aaronson has contributed two goals and an assist, while Adams has captained the team in four matches including the wins against Jamaica, Costa Rica and Mexico.
- Four different players have registered a total of seven goals against the Reggae Boyz: Pepi (2; Oct. 7, 2021), Pulisic (2; July 3, 2019), Sebastian Lletget (2; March 25, 2021); Brenden Aaronson (March 25, 2021)
USA-JAMAICA
- The USMNT is 19-3-8 all-time against Jamaica, as Tuesday marks the 31st meeting all-time between the nations.
- This will be the USA’s fourth match vs. Jamaica this year. Prior to last month’s qualifier in Austin, the teams also faced off during the 2021 Gold Cup Quarterfinals in Arlington, Texas as forward Matthew Hoppe scored his first international goal in the 83rd minute for a dramatic win.
- The teams also played in a friendly in Wiener Neustadt, Austria during the March international window, a 4-1 victory for the United States. Sebastian Lletget bagged a brace while Sergino Dest netted his first international goal and Brenden Aaronson also tallied.
- The USA is 6-1-6 vs. Jamaica in World Cup qualifying and 1-1-4 on the road. This cycle marks the teams’ first meetings in WCQ since October 2013.
- The USMNT clinched qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup with a 2-1 victory vs. Jamaica on Oct. 7, 2001 in Foxborough, Mass., the USA’s first match following 9/11 and the same day that the United States invaded Afghanistan. After taking an early lead, the U.S. secured the win on an 81st-minute penalty kick from Joe-Max Moore.
- The U.S. and Jamaica have met in the knockout rounds of the Gold Cup in each of the last four tournaments, all tightly-contested, including the 2017 tournament final, a 2-1 win for the USA on an 88th-minute goal from Jordan Morris.
JAMAICA ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union/USA; 52/0), Dwayne Miller (Syrianska/SWE; 36/0), Jeadine White (Cavalier; 3/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 4/0), Oniel Fisher (LA Galaxy/USA; 20/0), Kemar Lawrence (Toronto FC/CAN; 64/3), Greg Leigh (Morecambe/ENG; 2/0), Damion Lowe (Al Ittihad/EGY; 36/2), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached; 53/1), Liam Moore (Reading/ENG; 6/0), Alvas Powell (Philadelphia Union/USA; 53/2)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Bobby Reid (Fulham/ENG; 12/2), Anthony Grant (Swindon Town/ENG; 2/0), Ravel Morrison (Derby County/ENG; 4/0), Lamar Walker (Miami FC/USA; 8/1), Je-Vaughn Watson (Humble Lions; 92/4), Devon Williams (Miami FC/USA; 18/1)
FORWARDS (6): Michail Antonio (West Ham United/ENG; 2/1), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa/ENG; 10/1), Cory Burke (Philadelphia Union/USA; 22/7), Junior Flemmings (Birmingham Legion/USA; 19/2), Shamar Nicholson (Charleroi/BEL; 28/10), Kemar Roofe (Rangers/SCO; 4/1)
IN FOCUS: JAMAICA
GOALKEEPERS (3): Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union/USA; 52/0), Dwayne Miller (Syrianska/SWE; 36/0), Jeadine White (Cavalier; 3/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 4/0), Oniel Fisher (LA Galaxy/USA; 20/0), Kemar Lawrence (Toronto FC/CAN; 64/3), Greg Leigh (Morecambe/ENG; 2/0), Damion Lowe (Al Ittihad/EGY; 36/2), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached; 53/1), Liam Moore (Reading/ENG; 6/0), Alvas Powell (Philadelphia Union/USA; 53/2)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Bobby Reid (Fulham/ENG; 12/2), Anthony Grant (Swindon Town/ENG; 2/0), Ravel Morrison (Derby County/ENG; 4/0), Lamar Walker (Miami FC/USA; 8/1), Je-Vaughn Watson (Humble Lions; 92/4), Devon Williams (Miami FC/USA; 18/1)
FORWARDS (6): Michail Antonio (West Ham United/ENG; 2/1), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa/ENG; 10/1), Cory Burke (Philadelphia Union/USA; 22/7), Junior Flemmings (Birmingham Legion/USA; 19/2), Shamar Nicholson (Charleroi/BEL; 28/10), Kemar Roofe (Rangers/SCO; 4/1)
IN FOCUS: JAMAICA
- This year marks Jamaica’s fourth appearance in the Final Round of World Cup qualifying since 1998.
- Jamaica qualified for the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying as the fourth-ranked team in the region, claiming one of five automatic berths to the Octagonal.
This summer, Jamaica reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 Gold Cup after finishing second in its group, its fourth consecutive knockout stage appearance. - Most of Jamaica’s players ply their trade abroad, with six players each coming from England and the USA. Five play in Major League Soccer while three compete in the USL Championship. Jamaica has also called players based in Canada (two), Belgium, Egypt, Scotland and Sweden (one each).
- Defender Oniel Fisher is a teammate of U.S. midfielder Sebastian Lletget with the LA Galaxy, while midfielder Bobby Reid plays with U.S. defender Antonee Robinson at Fulham.
- Midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson’s 92 caps lead the roster, while forward Shamar Nicholson leads the team with 10 goals. Nicholson scored both of Jamaica’s goals during its three September qualifying matches.
- Forward Michail Antonio is West Ham United’s all-time leading scorer in the English Premier League. He earned a few call-ups to the England National Team, but never played for the Three Lions and represented Jamaica for the first time in September before scoring his first goal for the island nation vs. El Salvador last week.
- Head coach Theodore Whitmore was a legendary player for the Reggae Boyz, earning 120 caps and scoring 24 goals, good for third all-time in both categories. Whitmore began his second stint coaching Jamaica in 2016 after also leading the team from 2009-13.
- Jamaica’s lone FIFA World Cup appearance came at France 1998. Whitmore led the team in scoring during its qualifying campaign with five goals.
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