How the USMNT rallied to beat Jamaica 3-1 in extra time to advance to Nations League final

Antonio's club side West Ham announced he has withdrawn from the international squad in a curt statement on their website, failing to offer a reason for his withdrawal. It is unclear whether the decision was the club's or the player's.

West Ham said: "Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus have withdrawn from the Jamaica and Ghana squads respectively, having been called up by their countries earlier this month."

Antonio, who has recently returned from injury, played 79 minutes in the 5-0 Europa League win against Freiburg on March 14, before scoring in a 66-minute appearance against Aston Villa on Sunday.

In November, West Ham were furious when Antonio sustained a knee injury with Jamaica, and it is likely they would prefer him to stay at home to rest and recover.

On the train heading up to Liverpool from London, it was interesting listening to a group of West Ham United fans assert reasons why Michail Antonio deserves more respect.

It was early this month, before the league game away to Everton. Antonio had only just returned from a knee injury he sustained in training two months before. During that two and a half hour rail journey, those supporters were unified in their support of Antonio.

After all, the 33-year-old is approaching club-legend status, and is West Ham’s top scorer in Premier League history having earned the trust of three managers across four eras.

Last month, the United States men’s national team announced it will play a friendly against Brazil before their Copa America campaign later this year. The friendly will take place on June 12 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The game against the five-time World Cup winners will be the second in a set of pre-Copa America friendlies, with the U.S. facing Colombia on June 8 at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.

“Getting the opportunity to play against Brazil is special. When you talk about wanting to challenge ourselves against the best teams in the world, you can’t ask for much better than Brazil,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said.

“With their extremely talented player pool and rich history of success on the world stage this will certainly be a great preparation game for Copa America.”

Not a bad team to test yourself against, as Gregg notes.

In case you missed our earlier call to action: make sure you subscribe to The Athletic using our latest springtime discount offer here.

We look forward to having you on board.

One long year and two long days after his last Premier League match, Tyler Adams is finally back where he belongs.

The 25-year-old came on from the substitutes’ bench on March 13 as Bournemouth fought back from three goals down at the Vitality Stadium to beat Luton Town 4-3. Though it took head coach Andoni Iraola 71 minutes to call his number, he was in game mode well before kick-off.

“It felt natural,” Adams told The Athletic. “I’ve had an amazing rehab process... it’s been really good and it was easy to come into that game with the boys flying as soon as we got those three goals back. You could see the confidence in the team. I was so excited to be out there.”

Read more below...

Tyler Adams is back on the U.S. men’s national team roster for the upcoming Nations League semi-final against Jamaica.

Adams, 25, captained the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup but has not played a competitive match since a 20-minute substitute appearance for Bournemouth on September 27, 2023, which was followed by a second hamstring surgery that fall.

He has not played for the USMNT since the World Cup loss against the Netherlands in the knockout stage in Qatar in December 2022.

Adams will return to a team that is at full strength for the Nations League, which begins with the semi-final against Jamaica today, followed by a final or third-place game against Panama or Mexico on March 24.

For Jamaica, key defender Ethan Pinnock of Brentford is out with an ankle injury, and talismanic striker Michail Antonio has withdrawn from the squad.

While one of their most talented footballers, Aston Villa's in-form winger Leon Bailey, misses out - despite being fit.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) announced that Bailey has been “suspended for this camp for breaking curfew in the last camp.” Striker Trivante Stewart is out for the same reason.

Jamaica's Shamar Nicholson leads the way in the tournament's top scorers, with five.

Compatriots Bobby Decordova-Reid and Demarai Gray are joint second on three, alongside Anthony Lozano, Reon Moore, Jose Fajardo and the wonderfully named Rangelo Janga.

American left-back Antonee Robinson is among those on two, in joint third, while Jamaica's Leon Bailey and Romario Williams and USMNT attackers Ricardo Pepi and Gio Reyna are all on one each.

The sun is peeking through the clouds, the temperatures are inching up, blossoms are appearing on the trees and in a valiant attempt to rouse enthusiasm for the international break, the two big boys of the kit world have dropped some new designs. Spring is truly here.

Over the last week, Nike and Adidas have released a tranche of new kits before a colossal summer, which will take in the Copa America in the United States and Euro 2024 in Germany.

We will have full rundowns of all the kits at both tournaments closer to the time, but frankly, some of these designs are too delicious to wait until then, so here are some thoughts on the choice cuts.

If you’re a fan of snark about bad designs — which, admittedly, can be extremely fun — then this one isn’t for you. These are all delights…

Nike and U.S. Soccer unveiled the new home and away kits for the U.S. national teams on Monday.

The home kit, which features a predominantly white shirt, is called the “American Classic” and the away kit, which features a mostly blue shirt with a bit of white and red near the bottom, is called the “American Icon.”

So do these new kits live up to their lofty names?

Below, The Athletic’s U.S. soccer staff shares their views.

There's a new US kit, and it's a beauty.

Check it out below!

Previewing USMNT vs. Jamaica, plus Inter Miami’s Julian Gressel on playing with Messi and the Barca Boys!

We’ve got a fun one for you today on the latest episode of The Athletic's Total Soccer Show podcast!

Joe Lowery is joined by Julian Gressel to talk all about what it’s like playing for the highest-profile club in North America. Has Inter Miami embraced playing the villain? And how does playing with the Barcelona foursome change how you perform on the field?

There’s tons more in the Gressel chat, including his own entrepreneurial podcasting journey with the excellent new Player/Manager show, then Joe and Taylor get to previewing the USMNT’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal clash with Jamaica today.

Listen in via your preferred podcast platform below!

Alongside this live blog, The Athletic is also running a general football news live blog here.

Follow for all the latest football news from across the globe as we look ahead to this week's international fixtures.

It's being run by the superb Nnamdi Onyeagwara.

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