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The United States men’s national team wrapped up their annual domestic-based winter training camp with a 1-0 win over the Jamaican national team at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The U.S. began this match much better than they did in their previous friendly against Serbia with the midfield looking confident and dangerous in possession. Specifically Benny Feilhaber in the No. 10 role, he pulled the strings with nice controlled passing all around the field and had strong and confident touches.
Jamaica were pinned into their own end for the majority of the half with the Americans dominating possession and chances. Jordan Morris had the best chance of the half as he was played in on goal 1-v-1 by Juan Agudelo, but he couldn’t put away his finish.
The USA’s dominance carried over into the second half where they finally broke the deadlock in the 59th minute thanks to some lovely interchanging play between Feilhaber and Morris through the center of the field. They worked a very nice two-man game that split the defense and ended with the striker finishing off the chance set up by Benny.
With the Jamaicans outclassed, the U.S. controlled play throughout the second half in the midfield without any trouble at all and killed off the match with ease.
Quick Thoughts
- The midfield quartet of Benny, Dax, Lletget, and Pontius looked very good in the first half. Quick and precise passing was impressive, but the forwards were unable to match their quality.
- Walker Zimmerman and Jorge Villafana look like they belong on the backline. Both look very good on the ball and it’s apparent they know what they are doing when asked to do a job.
- While the end product was lacking for the most part and Jamaica wasn’t pressuring much, the midfield play displayed in the match has to be very encouraging.
Up Next
The players now return back to their clubs for the beginning of the MLS season. The USMNT’s next match will be the resumption of the CONCACAF Hexagonal on Friday, March 24th against Honduras in San Jose, California.