USMNT on higher alert of Jamaica despite star players absences

The Jamaican men’s national team will be without several of its key players for Thursday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal vs. the United States, but USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter has his squad even more ready for the matchup.

The Americans are two-time reigning champions of the competition and will be seeking a three-peat this week. Jamaica, however, will be at a major disadvantage with star attackers Leon Bailey and Michail Antonio out of the squad while Demarai Gray and Shamar Nicholson are suspended for the match.

The USMNT have failed to defeat Jamaica in their last two head-to-head showdowns and are ready for a tough challenge against the Reggae Boyz, regardless of their key absentees.

“It puts us on higher alert,” Berhalter said Wednesday in his pre-match press conference. “We’re not taking this team lightly. And now with these guys missing, it’s even more serious. I spoke to the team about this today. The guys that are going to get their opportunity tomorrow night.

“They’re going to be giving everything to show this coach they want to be part of the squad for Copa America,” he added. “So, it’s a dangerous game for us. We’re going to be really focused on trying to play a good game and get to the final.”

Jamaica still possesses many talents in its squad from star MLS goalkeeper Andre Blake to attackers Bobby Decordova-Reid and Jamal Lowe. The Reggae Boyz have only lost six of their 20 matches during Hallgrimsson’s spell as manager, defeating Canada in the CNL quarterfinals and also registering positive results against Mexico, Haiti, and Honduras in 2023.

Although its last competitive win over the USMNT came in 2015, Jamaica won’t have as much pressure on themselves as the United States will.

“We think that the quality that they have is so good,” Berhalter said. “They’re missing their top talent, but they still have enough to be a very competitive team and a very difficult team…They’re [Concacaf Nations League] very difficult games. So, we expect the same thing.

“We know Jamaica is a robust team,” he added. “We know they’re going to fight to the end. We saw that against Canada in the quarterfinals of the Nations League. So, we’re preparing for a very difficult opponent tomorrow.”

The winner of the USMNT-Jamaica showdown will face either Mexico or Panama on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.