Jamaica V’s USA – A face off in Gold Cup quarterfinals
Jamaica's Reggae Boyz and the United States cross paths for a sixth time at the Concacaf Gold Cup when they meet in the quarterfinals stage on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Historically speaking, the United States have been the better side in the matchup, beating Jamaica five times. The Reggae Boyz have a sole win.
Their last meeting in the Gold Cup came just two years ago in the 2019 semifinals. Christian Pulisic had a brace and Weston McKennie scored for the United States while Shamar Nicholson, a current member of the Jamaica team, got on the scoresheet for the opposition.
The biggest matchup between the two sides came in the 2017 Gold Cup final, a tightly-contested 2-1 victory for the United States that saw the side lift its sixth Gold Cup title. Both sides traded goals.
The United States would get on the scoresheet first in the 45th minutes, thanks to Jozy Altidore, while Je-Vaughn Watson equalized in the 50th minute. It would take a dramatic game-winner by Jordan Morris in the 89th minute to seal the result.
Jamaica would have their one breakthrough win over the U.S. in 2015, stunning the Yanks to book a ticket to the Gold Cup final. The Caribbean nation took a 2-0 lead in the first 35 minutes behind goals from Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes. Michael Bradley would score the lone goal for the U.S. right before halftime. The 2-1 result awarded Jamaica their first appearance in a Gold Cup final.
The last time the USA and Jamaica met in the quarterfinal stage came in the 2011 edition. Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey gave the U.S. a 2-0 win in Washington, D.C.
The two also met in the 2005 quarterfinals. Josh Wolff and DaMarcus Beasley helped the U.S. to a 3-1 victory over Jamaica as Ricardo Fuller provided the lone goal for the Reggae Boyz.
Outside of the Gold Cup, the two teams also faced each other this year in a friendly, with the U.S. getting a 4-1 win. Sebastian Lletget, a current member of the Gold Cup team, scored twice in that friendly that took place on March 25 in Austria.
With Jamaica in good form heading into this match, the U.S. might need to rely on some more brilliance from Lletget and his teammates on Sunday.
Check out Loop News for more on the Reggae Boyz