Jamaica’s senior men’s football team Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says he is satisfied with their performance against the United States despite missing key players in their 1-3 loss in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Nations League on Thursday night.

Greg Leigh put Jamaica up after only 31 seconds, as the Americans fell asleep at the kick-off.

The Reggae Boyz brought the United States’s attack to a halt until nearly the end of stoppage time, and the Americans appeared out of ideas. An own goal by Cory Burke, with the final touch of the game levelled for the United States, before substitute player Haji Wright scored twice in extra time to send them to the final. Wright scored in the 96th and 109th minutes of the game.

Hallgrimsson praised the tactical execution, defence, and possession but acknowledged the need for improvement in attacking and possession retention.

“Well, I thought the execution from the guys in this match, given all the absentees we have, was brilliant. So tactically, they were good defensively; they were absolutely spot on. Of course, we always need more time when you have new players, so we knew that part would not be perfect,” he said.

“I think we can fix things. Keeping better possession, especially in build-up. We went too early for the long ball, but overall, I felt more at ease in the second half than in the first, despite the fact that the US had possession.

“So I even felt that they kind of gave up trying to score in the end. We just took all the momentum away, and with such a good tactical defensive game, that gave us the best chances in the game, one and one with the keeper, and we should have killed the game off in these 90 minutes.”

Jamaica was without Demarai Gray and Shamar Nicholson, who were suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Centre back Ethan Pinnock was absent through injury, with Michail Antonio pulling out of the squad due to personal reasons. Leon Bailey was also suspended from the squad for breaking curfew on a previous match day.

Hallgrimsson credited the team for its effort, especially, he said, considering fatigue and missing players.

“It really hurts, and I feel for the guys for doing so well for 95 minutes and conceding a goal in the last touch of the game,” he said. “So I really feel for them, but I want to give them a lot of credit for this game.

“You play the United States at their home and are missing so many players or a lot of good performances from individuals on the pitch, a big heart, brave players fighting until the end, but you could also see that the legs were starting to get tired by the end of the game.

“Naturally, it was a psychological blow to get this goal, to concede this goal in the end, and you kind of saw it both mentally and physically in the second half that we were missing the power we had in the 95 minutes.

“But still, we had chances to score even though we conceded goals in extra time. But I think the boys can be proud of the performance. We feel that the game was finished before this corner came, but that’s the referee who decides when the game finishes.”

Hallgrimsson then discussed the strategy implemented to close off the game and said that conceding late has nothing to do with the tactical strategy plan.

“Well, the strategy we played — you could see the formation, the movements, and the cooperation between the players — was really good,” he said. “So we closed all areas for them for playing inside into the middle zone, and we closed them there, giving them no space and no time on the ball in dangerous moments.

“This goal in the end has nothing to do with tactical strategies, or we think they did it perfectly in this moment. I felt like we had the game even though the United States had more ball possession, but we had the game the whole time.”

There has been much public interest regarding an interview with Bailey on the
Let’s Be Honest podcast, in which he made claims about Jamaica Football Federation and the team. Hallgrimsson said he hopes for Bailey’s continued involvement despite the player saying he wants to take a break from national duties.

“I hope he will play for a lot of years for Jamaica,” Hallgrimsson said. “He is, at the moment, Jamaica’s hottest player, so I hope, but it’s up to him to decide that.”

In the other semi-final game, Mexico defeated Panama 3-0 to set up a clash with the United States in tomorrow’s final. The Reggae Boyz will face Panama in the third-place play-off, also tomorrow, at 5:00 pm (Jamaica time).