The U.S. men’s national team will be favored to lift a third-straight CONCACAF Nations League title later this month and head coach Gregg Berhalter is confident in his squad to get the job done.
Berhalter will soon finalize his 23-player roster for the upcoming Final Four, which is slated to begin on March 21 against Jamaica. The USMNT are joined by Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama in the Final Four, with the Reggae Boyz opposing the Americans from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
With both the Nations League and Copa America trophies to play for this year, Berhalter has welcomed the expectations to achieve glory in both competitions.
“It’s high expectations, but it’s something that our group embraces,” Berhalter said Tuesday in a press conference hosted by CONCACAF. “We have very good players. We have high expectations for what this program can do, not only in Nations League but in Gold Cups, Copa America’s and eventually in the World Cup. So, we welcome that.
“We have a semifinal that we want to win and then we have a final that we want to win,” he added. “It doesn’t matter who the favorite is. We’re all competing for a trophy. And we all want to advance in the semifinals. We all want to win the final.”
Jamaica has enjoyed a positive rise in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s reign as head coach, reaching the Nations League semifinals. Led by European talents Demarai Gray, Michail Antonio, and Leon Bailey, as well as standout MLS goalkeeper Andre Blake, the Reggae Boyz have drawn the Americans in each of their last two head-to-head matches (FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Gold Cup group stage).
After defeating Canada, Honduras, and Haiti, and tying Mexico in 2023, Jamaica will bring plenty of confidence to its latest showdown with the United States on American soil.
“I think the most important thing is it’s a resilient team,” Berhalter said. “They lost in Jamaica to Canada, and they had to go away to Canada and get the victory. They went down in the game, and they still were able to come back and win. So, it’s a very strong mentality. You can tell the coach has been through major tournaments before; a very experienced coach. … It’s going to be a difficult match, but we’re excited because difficult matches will help us grow.”
This website aggregates and curates news articles, blog posts, and other content from a variety of external sources. While we aim to link back to the original source, this site does not own or claim ownership of any articles, posts, or other content indexed on this site. The views, opinions, and factual statements expressed in each piece of aggregated content belong solely to its respective author and publisher. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of aggregated content. Visitors are advised to verify facts and claims through the original source before reuse or redistribution.
