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USMNT vs. Jamaica, 2019 Gold Cup: Final Score 3-1 as Pulisic Leads Yanks to the Gold Cup Final

Published

7 years ago

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In what turned out to be a very long night for everyone, the U.S. advanced to the Gold Cup final against Mexico by beating Jamaica, 3-1. A lengthy severe weather delay in the 17th minute of play pushed the ending of the match into the early morning hours of Independence Day, making it an appropriate time for the U.S. to win and a great way to start the Fourth of July celebrations.

Once again, Christian Pulisic proved he can be a difference maker both with the ball at his feet, and putting the ball into the back of the net, leading the Yanks with a brace after Weston McKennie had scored the opener.

Gregg Berhalter brought out a strong lineup for the semifinal match. As usual, Zack Steffen returned in goal, with Tim Ream, Aaron Long, Matt Miazga, and Reggie Cannon on defense. In the midfield, Berhalter brought back Pulisic, Michael Bradley, and McKennie. Up top, Paul Arriola was joined by Jozy Altidore and Jordan Morris

The Yanks started quickly with a chance on a cross from Pulisic in the second minute of play, but Altidore wasn’t able to get any kind of strike on the ball. Jamaica earned a free kick less than a minute later, and the U.S. was fortunate that Jamaica couldn’t get a foot on the delivered kick either.

Morris brought the ball down the right side in the fourth minute, and got a cross into the area, where Altidore missed. Arriola had a chance at the ball as well, but Andre Blake showed why he’s such a good keeper and got the stop. In the sixth minute, the U.S. attacked again but Cannon hit the ball into the right side of the net.

McKennie finally broke through for the U.S. in the ninth minute. Bradley delivered a long ball to Cannon, who crossed it into the area. Altidore unselfishly tipped it to McKennie, who gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead.

Pulisic earned a free kick outside the area in the 11th minute of play. He took the kick himself, and nearly doubled the lead, but he hit the right post. A few minutes later, Arriola earned a free kick on the left side this time, and Pulisic delivered it into the box. Blake went high to grab the ball, but lost it when he hit the ground, and Long was unable to put the ball into the back of the net.

The first 15 minutes of play was dominated by the U.S., as the Yanks kept hammering against the Jamaican defense. Unfortunately, in the 17th minute, the referee called the opposing captains over to the sideline to let them know that the match was now under a severe weather delay, and the teams headed into the locker rooms, where they would stay for an hour and 27 minutes.

At 11:20 p.m. — almost two hours from the start of the match — play finally resumed. The U.S. initially picked up right where it left off, with Morris making a run into the area, but the ball was smothered by Blake. After a giveaway on the U.S. side of the pitch, Jamaica finally got a shot on goal, despite a missed offside call.

In the 20th minute, Arriola earned a free kick on the left side of the area. Pulisic again delivered the ball, but Long was unable to get his header on target. Jamaica came out playing a higher line after the delay, and in the 23rd minute the Reggae Boyz got their second shot on goal. Fortunately, Steffen was able to get hands on it and keep Jamaica off the scoreboard.

The rain delay helped Jamaica reset, and took some of the energy out of the U.S. attack. In the 26th minute, Jamaica earned a corner, but Michael Hector put his shot wide right. The U.S. finally got back on the front foot, and Bradley delivered a nice pass to McKennie, but the midfielder couldn’t get a shot off.

Things settled down a bit, until the 34th minute, when Jamaica earned a free kick on the right side of the area. Alvas Powell took the shot for Jamaica, but it went wide left. Going back the other way, Pulisic made a slick move to get past the Jamaican defense, and earn a corner kick. Unfortunately, the U.S. was unable to capitalize, and Miazga fouled Blake as he was coming down with the ball. Miazga got a talking to from the ref, but no card was issued.

In the 43rd minute, Altidore was taken down by Junior Flemmings, and as the Jamaican got back to his feet, he gave a little extra kick to Altidore. Jozy didn’t like it and jumped up to get in Junior’s face. To no one’s surprise, both were given a yellow card.

In the 45th minute, Pulisic once again took the ball towards goal, but his cross at the goal line was intercepted by Blake. The teams headed back into the locker room at half with the same 1-0 score as when the weather delay was called. After a very long first half, both teams had eight shots with the U.S. putting four on target compared to Jamaica’s two. The U.S. also had the advantage in possession, with 56%.

There were no changes for the U.S. to start the second half, and the match picked up right where it left off, with both teams pressing high. In the 47th minute Cannon ran down a long ball on the right, and got a cross into Arriola, but he headed it directly to Blake.

The U.S. got its second goal in the 52nd minute. McKennie sent a ball up to Morris, whose shot came off Blake’s hands and Pulisic was there to clean up the ball and get another goal in the Gold Cup.

Things really opened up after the second U.S. goal, and both Jamaica and the U.S. started making runs. In the 55th minute, Berhalter brought in Gyasi Zardes for Altidore, to give the Toronto FC striker a rest for the final. Zardes almost immediately did what he does, and put a perfect pass from McKennie as far wide right as he could in a one-on-one with Blake.

With a two-goal lead, the U.S. still pushed forward while trying to see the game out, with Jamaica unable to create many chances. One chance they did have was Darren Mattocks in the 65th minute, but the ball sailed high.

Jamaica started to come into the game more after that, using U.S. turnovers in the attacking third to counter and catch the defense retreating toward goal. The Reggae Boyz were able to start getting some dangerous balls into and around the penalty area.

Jamaica finally got on the board as Miazga was a bit out of position, and Shamar Nicholson headed the cross from Leon Bailey past Steffen.

The goal prompted Jamaica to put even more pressure on the U.S. defense, forcing Steffen to make a save. The Yanks finally cleared the ball, but Jamaica was giving the U.S. more trouble. The U.S. didn’t help matters with some sloppy giveaways in its own half.

In the 70th minute, Cristian Roldan came on for his Seattle Sounders teammate Morris. The U.S. pushed forward again, and in the 81st minute, Pulisic took another free kick, but it went straight to Blake. Jamaica kept pressuring the U.S., putting a few crosses into the area, but the U.S. defense held, with Steffen making a save in the 86th minute.

Pulisic put the game away with the third USMNT goal, and his second of the night, in the 87th minute. Cannon started the play, passing the ball to Pulisic up the right flank. Pulisic crossed it into the area, but split two potential targets on the other side of the box. Arriola recovered it and fired a shot toward the far post that bounced off Blake’s hands, where Pulisic was waiting for the put-back, giving the U.S. a buffer.

The U.S. made their final substitution in the 88th minute, bringing in Daniel Lovitz for Arriola. With three minutes of stoppage time, the Yanks went into defensive mode, and saw the game out.

Both teams finished with 16 shots, though the U.S. put nine on target as compared to four for Jamaica. The U.S. finished with 52% of the possession.

The U.S. will face rival Mexico this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET in the Gold Cup final.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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