John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images
The U.S. Men’s National Team is one step closer to a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal win.
Ricardo Pepi’s early goal stood as the decider as Team USA won 1-0 on Thursday night in manager Mauricio Pochettino’s first game with the team.
The quarterfinal will continue with a second game on Monday. Whichever team wins the set will advance to both the Nations League Finals in March and the Gold Cup in June.
B/R Football @brfootball
Pulisic 🤝 Pepi
And it only took the USMNT five minutes 😤
Watch Jamaica vs. USA on TNT, TruTV and Max 📺 pic.twitter.com/HMw7eERXtD
Pepi’s early goal continued what has so far been a strong season for the 21-year-old USMNT star.
OptaJack⚽️ @OptaJack
4 – Ricardo Pepi is the fourth player to score 12 goals for the #USMNT before turning 22 years old, joining Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic. Dozen. pic.twitter.com/zbTo8tnbRw
AC Milan star Christian Pulisic meanwhile sparked praise by setting up Pepi’s go-ahead goal in the fifth minute.
Tom Bogert @tombogert
Excellent work by Christian Pulisic between the lines + turn to progress + slip Ricardo Pepi through at the perfect time.
Beautiful.
pic.twitter.com/xbCmlONKEx
Pulisic took several hits from Jamaica as USMNT worked to preserve the lead in the second half.
Team USA outshot Jamaica 3-2 in the victory, while Jamaica led 12-6 in shot attempts.
The aggregate-goal series continues on Monday in St. Louis, Missouri. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
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