Four plays that summarize the US soccer team’s disheartening loss to Jamaica
This was bound to happen.
The U.S. had a cakewalk to the Gold Cup semi-finals. They fell at the first real hurdle.
Wednesday night, the U.S. men’s national team fell to Jamaica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In their first genuinely competitive game of the tournament, the U.S. were beaten by a team ranked 76th in the world.
The U.S. had an early chance for a free goal after a cocky Jamaican goalkeeper tried to be cool, but it pinged harmlessly into the side of the net.
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After 30 minutes and a mega throw-in from Jamaica, a piece of good fortune (and poor goalkeeping) saw Jamaica take the lead.
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A second goalkeeping flub by Guzman gave Jamaica a free kick, which Giles Barnes converted beautifully to put the ball past Guzman’s reach and the game past the U.S.
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With a late chance to equalize, the U.S. were once again given an opportunity on a platter. The ball couldn’t really have been parried any better for Aron Jóhannsson, yet he managed to miss the net spectacularly.
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The Gold Cup run may be over for this year, but a couple of factors suggest the future is bright for U.S. soccer. Viewership is at an all-time-high, and there’s a new generation of players ready to burst onto the international scene. Check out the gallery below for some players who could take U.S. soccer to the next level.
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