World Football

The U.S. Men's National Team is one step closer to a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal win.

Ricardo Pepi's early goal stood as the decider as Team USA won 1-0 on Thursday night in head coach Mauricio Pochettino's first game with the team.

The quarterfinal will continue with a second game on Monday. Whichever team wins the set will advance to both the Nations League Finals in March and the Gold Cup in June.

Pepi's early goal continued what has so far been a strong season for the 21-year-old USMNT star.

AC Milan star Christian Pulisic meanwhile sparked praise by setting up Pepi's go-ahead goal in the fifth minute.

The game marked a historic night for both Pulisic, who became the 33rd player in USMNT history to make 75 appearances for the U.S., and Pepi, who became the fourth USMNT player to score 12 times on international stages before turning 22, per the AP.

Pulisic also took several hits from Jamaica as USMNT worked to preserve the lead in the second half.

Jamaica's Demarai Gray received a penalty kick in the 14th minute, but Team USA goaltender Matt Turner blocked the shot to keep the Americans ahead.

The hosts got another opportunity to tie the game in the 65th minute, but Mason Holgate missed an opportunity on the goal line.

The second half was marked by whistles, with Holgate getting dismissed after receiving his second yellow card of the game in the 86th minute.

The win led fans to celebrate the U.S. Soccer Federation's decision to sign Pochettino as the successor to former manager Gregg Berhalter.

Pochettino coached Team USA through a pair of friendlies last month, but the win marked his first in a competitive match.

Team USA won the first three editions of the Concacaf Nationals League tournament. The United States will see if they can set themselves on track for a fourth straight victory by claiming the team's second official win of the Pochettino era on Monday.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis. The winner of the aggregate-goal series will advance to a semifinal match on March 20 in Inglewood, California.

The United States men's national team plays its first significant game under manager Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday night.

The USMNT visits Jamaica in the first leg of a two-leg quarterfinal in the Concacaf Nations League.

The Americans split the first two friendly matches under Pochettino's direction in September. They won at home against Panama and lost on the road in Mexico with a depleted squad.

Thursday's game starts a two-game series over the November international break with Jamaica. The winner of the series advances to the Nations League semifinals, which will be held in March.

USMNT vs. Jamaica Info

Date: Thursday, November 14

Start Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Live Stream: Max

Storylines to Watch

Thursday is the first real test of the Pochettino era.

It will be one of the rare chances the USMNT gets to play in a competitive environment prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.

The USMNT's bare minimum expectation is to win everything on the continental level, and that has been true in the Nations League since it was introduced in 2019. The USMNT is three-for-three in Nations League titles.

The regular cast of stars are available for Pochettino on Thursday. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson are among the players penciled into the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper and striker continue to be the toughest positions to figure out inside the USMNT talent pool.

Matt Turner and Zack Steffen were two of four goalkeepers called in for the November Nations League games. Two other young netminders are in camp, but they are not expected to start over the two international veterans.

Pochettino may be willing to split the November starts between Turner and Steffen, who have 76 international appearances between them, but no clear-cut No. 1 goalkeeper has emerged just yet.

At forward, Ricardo Pepi has to be the option given who was available for the November roster. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are both dealing with injuries at the moment.

Pepi could take the Nations League quarterfinals as his opportunity to shine in front of the new manager. He has 11 goals in 31 international games and has six goals in the Eredivisie for PSV this season.

Brandon Vazquez is the other candidate to start up top. The Monterrey forward is not in the blistering form he was in last year in Liga MX, but he does have three goals in six games in the new Liga MX campaign.

Pochettino might be inclined to start his players with more experience on Thursday on the road before he unleashes a more attack-friendly lineup at home on Monday.

Jamaica can be one of the toughest teams to break down with three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in net.

The Reggae Boyz allowed one goal in their last four games, so do not expect the Americans to bury a plethora of chances.

A draw in Kingston would be a good result, but if the Americans win, it will likely be by a slim margin.

Prediction: USMNT 0, Jamaica 0

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have suspended English referee David Coote and are looking into a video that purportedly shows Coote making derogatory remarks toward former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

The person identified as Coote from the video said that Liverpool was "s--t" when asked about the club, and he described Klopp as a "c--t" and "f--king arrogant," per the Daily Mail's Lewis Steele.

It's unclear when the video was filmed, but it appears to be from when Klopp was still the Liverpool manager. Coote used the present tense when he said, "I do my best not to speak to him," and also praised midfielder James Milner, who left Liverpool when his contract expired after the 2022-23 season.

The comments sparked an instant reaction, particularly among Reds supporters, and a suspension was inevitable.

Even if Coote never displayed any explicit bias against Liverpool in past matches, his credibility has been undermined in a major way. It took no time before fans examined close officiating decisions that went against Liverpool.

At the very least, it's hard to see how Coote could work another Liverpool match moving forward if the video is verified, and PGMOL could decide more serious measures are required.

Keith Hackett, a former top-level referee who once led PGMOL, told BBC Sport's Chris Osborne in 2016 the organization attempts to vet any potential conflicts of interest.

"At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited," he said. "They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they've played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.

"That gives you a picture that comes into use when you're appointing. It's about ensuring, for example, you wouldn't appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team."

Coote became a regular Premier League referee in 2018-19. He was coincidentally the referee for Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa in Matchday 11.

Despite rumors that Neymar is considering joining Lionel Messi in the MLS, Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino says he believes league salary restrictions will prevent his club from signing the Brazilian soccer star.

"With [Messi] and the boys already here, anything that can happen. What I can't imagine is if the league doesn't make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out," Martino said on Friday, per ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.

Martino continued, per Becherano: "After writing it or saying it in the media it's all good, nothing happens, it doesn't have any consequences, but what would the implementation be like? And the reality is that if there is something that the MLS has, it is that the rules are strict and can't be broken, unless the MLS decides to change."

Neymar is signed with the Saudi Pro League's Al Hilal through 2025 on a contract reportedly worth $300 million. His current club paid a $100 million transfer fee to acquire his contract from Paris Saint-Germain. Rumors he is now considering a move to the MLS were sparked by his recent purchase of property in the Miami area.

Martino said that Neymar's decision to purchase property in the area was not enough to support the idea he might join Inter Miami.

"We cannot talk or mention a player because he bought a house here or has a girlfriend from Fort Lauderdale... First you have to analyze what the league offers and if this is really possible," Martino said. "Starting from that base, today this is impossible, so there is no more continuity in this conversation."

Martino previously coached Neymar during his tenure with FC Barcelona, where he also coached current Inter Miami players Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez.

Inter Miami currently has two designated players, Messi and Busquets, whose deals can exceed the MLS salary cap. The club used to have three designated players including Gregore, but following his transfer to the Brazilian league last February the team has opted for two DP spots this season.

Using two designated player slots instead of three allows Inter Miami to carry four under-22 players and gain about $550,000 in additional cap space, Paul Tenorio noted for The Athletic.

In order to add Neymar, Inter Miami would either need to convince him to sign at a discount or entirely reshape their roster in order to add a third designated player, Tenorio reported.

Messi, Alba and Busquets are reportedly still receiving wages from Barcelona, per Mundo Deportivo and Yahoo Sports, which may have made it easier for Alba and Busquets to take discounts in order to join Messi in Miami. For Neymar, whose current contract is set to expire in June 2025, that could be a harder sell.

Neymar returned to the pitch with Al Hilal after a year sidelined with an ACL injury in October. Brazil is "hopeful" that he will be available to play in World Cup qualifiers later this month, per ESPN's Adriana Garcia.

Four days after firing Erik ten Hag, Manchester United is hiring Rúben Amorim as its next manager.

United announced Amorim's hiring on Friday after he spent the previous four years with Primeira Liga club Sporting CP.

There had been rumblings about ten Hag's future following a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season, but the Red Devils got redemption with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.

United announced in July that ten Hag's contract had been extended until 2026 after the club exercised a one-year option in his contract.

Any positive momentum Manchester United hope to build on after the FA Cup Final hasn't carried over to the 2024-25 Premier League season. The club sits in 14th place with a 3-2-4 record going into Saturday's match with Chelsea.

Ten Hag was fired on Monday, 24 hours after a 2-1 loss to West Ham United. ESPN's Rob Dawson noted United bosses made the call to sack ten Hag because they had lost faith that he would be able to turn things around.

Ruud van Nistelrooy took over for ten Hag on an interim basis, managing United in its 5-2 win over Leicester City in the round of 16 at the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Amorim's deal with Manchester United runs until 2027 with a team option for an additional year. Van Nistelrooy will continue to manage the club until Amorim takes over on Nov. 11.

The 39-year-old Amorim had a 13-year playing career from 2003 to '16. He moved into managing in 2018 when he was hired by Casa Pia and threatened to quit following a 0-2 start if the club didn't win its third match.

Amorim resigned as Casa Pia's manager in January 2019 after receiving a one-year ban for delivering match instructions without the required coaching badges. He returned to the managerial chair later that same year with Braga and was eventually hired by Sporting CP in March 2020.

Sporting CP has a 162-33-33 record in 228 matches under Amorim's watch.