November 17, (THEWILL) – The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) drew 1-1 with Jamaica in Kingston to continue their qualification campaign for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
It was fortunate for the Americans that they did not lose. Six minutes from time, a Jamaican goal was disallowed, and the outcome could have been different if it had gone in.
The United States picked up one point from the draw, which comes after a 2-0 win over Mexico on Friday. The win puts the Americans in a solid position for the next two rounds of matches, which will take place in January and March 2022.
In Kingston, the Americans scored first through a solo run by Tim Weah, who was one of the top performers against Mexico. He finished a penetrating run along the left side of the Jamaican box by lifting the ball over the shoulder of Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake, giving his side an early lead in the 11th minute.
But, Jamaica’s top forward Michail Antonio, who has been in scintillating form for West Ham in the English premiership, reacted to the USA’s solo attempt with a long-range effort of his own that easily beat US goalkeeper Zack Steffen and snuck in under the crossbar.
The Jamaicans needed three points from this encounter to climb higher up the qualification table in the CONCACAF standings. And the Reggae Boyz will be disappointed that a penalty on a Chris Richards arm deflection in the box was not awarded in the first half, although the arm appeared to be tucked in.
But, apart from that slip from the officials, Bobby Reid of Jamaica also squandered a fantastic 53rd-minute chance inside the six-yard box, which will haunt his dreams as there were no other goals recorded in the game.
The draw keeps the United States on pace to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2022. In January, the USMNT is scheduled to play two home games (against El Salvador and Honduras) and an away fixture against leaders Canada, which ought to be the toughest of the lot for the US.
The situation for Jamaica is more dismal. They have a lot of ground to make up especially after the remainder of the matchday eight results. They are 6th on the table and on seven points after eight games, a whole nine points from the top where Canada sits leading the group.
Tough home ties against Mexico in January and Costa Rica in February await them before they travel to Canada in March to also face the stiffest of the remainder of their qualifying series.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
