The U.S. men's soccer team suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat Wednesday to Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals in Atlanta.
The Jamaican team got first half goals from Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes to silence the crowd and shock the heavily favored Americans in the biennial regional tournament.
Michael Bradley scored for the U.S three minutes into the second half but the defending Gold Cup champions could not even the score.
“It’s very disappointing, very frustrating,” Bradley said. “You have no divine right to be in the final. We certainly didn’t think that. We knew from the get-go this was going to be an extremely difficult tournament. It was.”
It is only the second time Jamaica has beaten the U.S. team in 23 attempts. The Jamaicans also became the first Caribbean team to advance to the tournament final. They will play Mexico, which defeated Panama 2-1 in the other semifinal match.
The U.S. will play Panama in the third place game. The U.S. men will also have to play the Gold Cup champion in a playoff for a berth in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, which serves as a tune-up event one year before the next World Cup.
