The United States men’s national team continues their World Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday when they welcome Jamaica to the Lone Star State as part of Matchday 4. With the Americans’ qualifying campaign in a shaky position after back-to-back draws to start, Gregg Berhalter’s team came through with a much-needed 4-1 win at Honduras last time out to get things back on track. With three games over the next week and a half, getting six points or more would put the U.S. in fantastic spot moving forward in qualifying.
Here’s are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Oct. 7 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Q2 Stadium — Austin, Texas
TV: ESPN2, TUDN | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Odds: USMNT -333; Draw +333; Jamaica +850 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Craving even more coverage of the USMNT’s road to Qatar? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.
Storylines
USMNT: There is still a positive vibe around this team after that last win, but they are still without Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna due to injury. Now, that shouldn’t matter all that much in a game like this one, but if early on there are issues in creativity, don’t be surprised to see Brenden Aaronson push a bit more centrally to try and get things going. He’s been the most impressive American in Europe since the last qualifying cycle and is reaching a point where he needs to be a sure-fire starter just because of his consistent impact.
Paramount+ is carrying up to 79 Concacaf qualifying games, including away games for the USMNT as they go to Panama on Sunday.
Jamaica: They were always unlikely to get much for this game, but their chances took a massive hit with the news that their two most talented players, Michail Antonio and Leon Bailey, are both absent due to injury. That means the individual quality that both possess, as well as they ability to set up teammates, is gone from a match where they really, really needed it. As a result, goalkeeper Andre Blake is likely going to have to play out of his mind to help them get even a point.
Prediction
Ricardo Pepi gets another goal and the U.S. defense returns to form in what ends up being a victory with very little trouble. Pick: United States 2, Jamaica 0
