Jordan Morris scored in the 88th minute on Wednesday night to propel the U.S. Men’s National Team to a 2-1 victory over Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

USMNT Jamaica Gold Cup Final SCORES

The 22-year-old Seattle Sounders forward netted after taking an assist from Clint Dempsey. Gyasi Zardes raced down the right sideline and crossed into the middle of the box, where the ball was only partially cleared. Dempsey managed to knock it down with his heel — following a Jamaican defender’s header deflection — right into the path of an onrushing Morris, who fired a shot through a crowd of Jamaican defenders and into goalkeeper Dwayne Miller’s top right corner. Morris also scored in the U.S.’s final group stage victory against Martinique. 

Two minutes before that goal, a free-kick from Dempsey bounced off the Jamaica wall and deflected off Morris in the box. The ball then fell to Matt Besler, who fired a shot that Miller saved.

The U.S. has now won six Gold Cup titles: only Mexico has won the tournament more times (seven), while Canada has won once. The game also marked the second straight time Jamaica finished as runner-up in the Gold Cup, after the country lost to Mexico in the 2015 tournament.

The Americans’ captain Michael Bradley won the Golden Boot despite playing only three of the six games.

The U.S. dominated possession for most of the match (73 percent, according to ESPN). Bradley was fouled about 30 yards from goal just before halftime after a nice buildup through midfield. On the ensuing free-kick in the 45th minute, Jozy Altidore curled  fantastic shot over Jamaica’s wall and inside Miller’s top left corner to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead at the break. The goal marked Altidore’s 39th career international goal, fourth all-time in the Gold Cup and third against Jamaica.

Jamaica equalized four minutes after halftime when the visitors capitalized on a dead ball situation after earning a corner kick. On that play, Kemar Lawrence fired a perfect strike to the back post, and Je-Vaughn Watson beat Morris to connect with a volley and make it 1-1.

Tim Howard made two saves for the U.S. to earn his 61st victory.

Manager Bruce Arena is now the only head coach to lead the USMNT to three Gold Cup titles, having previously guided the Americans to trophies in 2002 and 2005. Arena’s all-time record against Jamaica is 6-0-5.

The USA is 15-2-8 all-time vs. Jamaica and 12-1-3 at home.

The Americans next play Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on Sept. 1 for the first game of the final round of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, and then travel to face Honduras on Sept. 5 before playing Panama and Trinidad & Tobago in October.

SANTA CLARA, CA – JULY 26: #8 Jordan Morris of the United States celebrates scoring a goal against the Jamaica during the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final at Levi’s Stadium on July 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

After defeating Costa Rica 2-0 in Saturday night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal in Arlington, Texas, the U.S. Men’s National Team will face Jamaica in the tournament final on Wednesday night in Santa Clara, California.

USMNT Jamaica Gold Cup Final info

Jamaica defeated Mexico — the other favorite team to win the Gold Cup besides the U.S. — 1-0 on Sunday to reach the final.

The final will be held at Levi’s Stadium and will begin at 9:30 pm EST (6:30 pm PST).

Game info:

Venue: Levi’s Stadium; Santa Clara, Calif.

Kickoff Time: 9:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. PT (Actual kick around 9:50)

Available TV: FS1, Univision, Univision Deportes

Available Streams: Fox Sports Go, Univision Deportes, fuboTV (free trial), Sling TV

Odds to win:

USA: 1/2
Draw: 11/4
Jamaica: 7/1

The lineups for both teams have yet to be announced. The USMNT is undefeated so far under head coach Bruce Arena, with a record of 8-0-5.

Clint Dempsey scored the Americans’ game-winning goal against Costa Rica with an 82nd-minute free-kick on Saturday after Jozy Altidore broke the deadlock with a stellar score of his own following an assist from Dempsey ten minutes earlier.

The U.S. lost to Jamaica 2-1 in the 2015 Gold Cup semifinals.

The U.S. is 4-1-0 against Jamaica in their previous five games, the last of which was a friendly victory in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Feb. 3.

In other related news, German-born midfielder Fabian Johnson announced earlier this week that he may retire from the USMNT following the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Johnson plays for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and will not participate in Wednesday’s final, like many other U.S. internationals. He boasts 56 caps with the U.S. since he made his debut in November 2011 under former head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and played every game for the Americans in the 2014 World Cup.

CHATTANOOGA, TN – FEBRUARY 03: Brad Evans #3 of USA kicks a ball past Jourdain Fletcher #16 of Jamaica during the second half of a friendly international match at Finley Stadium on February 3, 2017 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

The U.S. Men’s National Team has reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals for the eighth straight such tournament following a shaky and ugly 2-0 victory over El Salvador in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

US-El Salvador CONCACAF Gold Cup SCORES

The quarterfinal was marked by 45 fouls — 19 of which the U.S. committed — and generally careless playing from both teams.

The Americans’ head coach Bruce Arena heavily criticized both his squad and the opposing side for their mediocre performances, particularly in the first half-hour of the game.

“I thought we had a difficult time tonight,” said Arena. “Our timing wasn’t good, we didn’t do well with the physicality. The game had no rhythm with all the fouls, and players falling on the ground.”

“But we weren’t good on top of it. It took us 30 minutes to play a little bit. Then we got a little bit more assertive, and took up good positions on the field, and capitalized on a couple of their mistakes. It was a sloppy game overall.”

Arena changed all 11 starters for the second consecutive game after adding six new players to the lineup earlier this week. The coach has led the USMNT to a 12-game undefeated streak (seven victories, five ties) since taking over in November. Arena’s run surpasses former U.S. manager Bob Bradley’s 11-game unbeaten run (ten victories, one tie) in 2007.

Omar Gonzalez opened scoring with a header from a few yards out in the center of the penalty box in the 41st minute. The 6-foot-5, 28-year-old defender — who plays for Pachuca in the Mexican league — connected on a free kick Michael Bradley took from about 35 yards out on the left side to beat goalkeeper Derby Carrillo with his second international goal in as many games.

Six minutes later, Eric Lichaj doubled the Americans’ lead by shooting through the onrushing Carrillo’s legs from about six yards out after taking a feed from Clint Dempsey on the left side of the box and beating sliding defender Ivan Mancia. The score marked the 28-year-old Nottingham Forest (English league) defender’s first international goal in 14 appearances with the USMNT.

Following his game-winner that came just two minutes before halftime, Lichaj raced to the corner flag and performed a belly slide to celebrate, a move that FOX Sports — which aired the game — duly poked fun at on Twitter:

There was also a very strange moment in the second half of the game. During a corner kick in the 57th minute, U.S. forward Jozy Altidore and El Salvador defender Henry Romero were jockeying for position directly in front of Carrillo when Romero bit the Toronto FC striker on the left shoulder from behind and reached around to twist his left nipple. After the bite, Altidore seemed unperturbed but he quickly crouched low after the nipple-twister to grab his chest and turned to bump Romero. Carrillo seemed just as shocked as Altidore said he was after the dirty double-foul.

However, Altidore later joked about how upset his wife was because of how Romero touched him.

“My girl’s mad at me,” the American forward said. “She’s mad at me. She’s mad at Romero, ’cause she’s like: ‘Only I can bite you, only I can grab your nipples.'”

Altidore remained in the game after that incident.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, claimed he was also bitten on the shoulder by Darwin Cerin in the 81st minute.

“I was a bit shocked,” Gonzalez said.

Arena said he wasn’t surprised.

Romero could be disciplined for his actions, as other players have been for similar offenses. Uruguay’s Luis Suarez was handed a four-month suspension for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup.

United States Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena has replaced six players on his 23-man squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, citing the need for more stars with extensive international experience as his reason for the changes.

USMNT Gold Cup 2017 Lineup

Arena added on Sunday forwards Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders) and Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), midfielders Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) and Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), and goalkeepers Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids) and Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas).

According to Gold Cup regulations, teams are permitted to make up to six changes to their roster within 24 hours of the end of their third and final group-stage game, as long as the players come from a team’s 40-man preliminary roster.

The six players substitute goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Sean Johnson, midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Cristian Roldan and Kelyn Rowe, and forward Dom Dwyer.

“We have added some experienced players to the roster that can help us in the Knockout Round of the Gold Cup,” said Arena. “The players leaving all made a good impression, and I’m optimistic for their future with the National Team program.”

Some of the changes were planned in advance. Bedoya is expecting the birth of his second child this week and thus was always expected to take time off. U.S. Soccer stated the departures of Guzan and Johnson were also expected.

Gonzalez will be playing in his first-ever official tournament since FIFA approved his one-time switch from Mexico to the U.S. earlier this month.

The other five players participated in the most recent round of 2018 World Cup qualifying in June, and four of them — Bradley, Howard, Altidore and Dempsey — boast more than 100 international caps.

The U.S. finished in first in Group B after the first round of the Gold Cup with seven points (two victories and one tie) following Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Nicaragua in Cleveland.

The Americans will next face El Salvador in the quarterfinals in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Mexico (Group C) and Costa Rica (Group A) finished the first round as the other two group leaders.

Canada made only one change to its roster, adding Orlando City striker Cyle Larin in place of Toronto FC wing-back Raheem Edwards.

Mexico will not make any changes, given that its top players participated in the Confederations Cup earlier this summer.

Wednesday’s quarterfinal will air at 9 pm EST on Fox Sports 1.

SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 16: Clint Dempsey #8 of the United States follows the play against against Ecuador during the 2016 Quarterfinal – Copa America Centenario match at CenturyLink Field on June 16, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Jordan Morris proved to be the savior of the U.S. Men’s National Team on Wednesday night, as he scored two goals to lift the Americans to a 3-2 victory over Martinique in their second CONCACAF Gold Cup group-stage game in Tampa, Florida.

U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team Gold Cup

“It’s all about team, all about the three points,” Morris, 22, said after the Americans improved to 31-1-4 during the Gold Cup group stage. The U.S. leads Group B with four points after tying 1-1 with Panama in its tournament opener, and next faces Nicaragua in Cleveland on Saturday. Panama is second in Group B and also has four points after beating Nicaragua 2-1 on Wednesday.

After a scoreless first half that included several close chances for the U.S., Omar Gonazlez put the hosts ahead in the 53rd minute. A low corner kick from Kellyn Acosta was batted out by a defender, and Paul Arriola attempted to convert on the deflection with a shot from just outside the box but his effort was blocked by Martinique goalkeeper Kevin Olimpia. Gonzalez poked in the rebound from about four yards for his second international goal.

Gonzalez praised Martinique for their performance, and said his team needed to play smarter and concentrate more until the final whistle.

“They didn’t stop running, didn’t stop playing,” said the 28-year-old defender, who plays for Mexican club Pachuca. “We need to be smarter, more focused throughout the entire game.”

Morris made it 2-0 just over ten minutes later. Second-half substitute Alejandro Bedoya — who came on for Acosta — fed Eric Lichag, who bolted down the right sideline and crossed to Morris. The Seattle Sounders forward one-timed a shot from the near post for his third international goal.

Martinique tied it 2-2 with goals from Kevin Parsemain in the 66th and 74th minutes. Parsemain first fired a shot through traffic from just outside the top of the box to beat goalie Brad Guzan, and then knocked in a rebound of teammate Johan Audel’s close-range shot that also deflected off Audel.

Less than two minutes after Parsemain’s second score, Morris sealed the victory for the U.S. by taking a ground cross from Gyasi Zardes from the left side of the box and one-timing a shot from near the penalty spot into the top-right corner.

“Morris put the U.S. up again 3-2 vs. #MTQ with this goal! #GoldCup2017,” Univision Deportes tweeted.

The narrowly missed scoring opportunities for the U.S. in the first half included a cross from Zardes to Morris just over two minutes in that flew wide of the left post, and a low header Morris took in the eleventh minute that also soared too wide left.

Martinique nearly scored the opening goal in the 33rd minute when Parsemain fired a low shot from inside the box that passed Guzan but hit the right post. The visitors also had two opportunities in the final minutes of the first half: a corner-kick header that went wide of Guzan’s right post, and then a long-range shot from Parsemain from the left that the goalkeeper caught.

“We’re certainly guilty of making the game a lot more difficult on us than it needed to be,” said U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who added that he still believed his team played well.

Arena made eight lineup changes in total on Wednesday. In addition, midfielder Christian Roldan made his U.S. national team debut and defender Justin Morrow his first international appearance in over four years. Lichaj had not played for the U.S. since May 2016.

The Americans are 5-0-5 since Arena took over for Jurgen Klinsmann last November.

The U.S. and Martinique had only played once before, in the group stage of the 2003 Gold Cup. The Americans won that game 2-0.

Martinique — a tiny island that is a French overseas department and has a population of 385,000 people — is not eligible for World Cup qualifying or other FIFA tournaments.

“A lot of pleasure from this game. Too bad that we got scored on right after coming back,” Martinique coach Jean-Marc Civault said through a translator. “Honestly, the U.S. was superior in keeping the ball, but I’m very proud of my players’ performance.”

TAMPA, FL – JULY 12: Jordan Morris #8 of the United States brings the ball up past Daniel Herelle #19 of Martinique during the first half of the CONCACAF Group B match at Raymond James Stadium on July 12, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Mexico handily defeated El Salvador 3-1 in its CONCACAF Gold Cup opening game in San Diego on Sunday.

Mexico El Salvador CONCACAF Gold Cup

Midfielder Elias Hernandez contributed a goal and two assists for El Tri, which was playing without head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. The Colombian sat in a suite at the Chargers’ former Qualcomm Stadium to serve the first game of a six-game suspension for arguing with an official in the Confederations Cup third-place game against Portugal on July 2, a matchup Mexico lost 2-1.

Defender Hedgardo Marin scored his first goal with Mexico on a header off Hernandez’s pinpointed free kick to give the team a 1-0 lead just eight minutes in. Marin jumped to head the ball into the top corner of goalkeeper Benji Villalobos’s far post.

El Salvador — which is ranked 103rd in the world by FIFA — tied it two minutes later on a breakaway from Nelson Bonilla.

Rodolfo Zelaya fed a through-ball to Bonilla, who slotted a ground shot from close range past onrushing goalie Jesus Corona. and just inside the far post.

Corono made a mistake shortly afterwards that nearly handed El Salvador another goal: his rollout to the middle of the field ended with a shot over his crossbar.

In the 29th minute, Hernandez made it 2-1 with a volley shot. The 29-year-old Leon midfielder — who joined Mexico’s national team in 2010 — took a lobbed cross from Jesus Gallardo from the right side and one-timed a hard, low shot past Villalobos.

Mexico’s final goal came in the 55th minute. Hernandez whipped a cross from the right after taking a long lob pass from Corona, but his initial target — forward Angel Sepulveda — was unable to connect by sliding in from directly in front of the goal. However, Orbelin Pineda kicked into a nearly-wide-open net from the left side as Villalobos raced out to make the save.

Pineda celebrated by performing two somersaults. By that point, the heavily pro-Mexico crowd of 53,133 was roaring.

With the victory, Mexico now leads Group C with three points. Jamaica is in second and also has three points after beating Curaçao 2-0 on Sunday. Should Osorio serve his full ban, he would miss all of El Tri’s Gold Cup contests even if his team reaches the final. If Mexico doesn’t advance to the title game, the coach could also miss one or more 2018 World Cup qualifiers in September and October.

Mexico — which has won three Gold Cups — next faces Jamaica in their second Group C game on Thursday in Denver at 10:30pm EST.

The United States Men’s National Team — which tied Panama 1-1 in Nashville on Saturday — next faces Martinique in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday at 9 pm EST. The USMNT is third in Group B with one point, while Martinique leads the four-team group following a 2-0 victory over Nicaragua on Saturday.

FOX Sports will air all games of the tournament, which the U.S. and Mexico are favored to win.

Attention, all international soccer fans: tickets for the two 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A games on July 7 are now on sale!

Tickets, CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A: French guiana vs Canada, Honduras vs costa rica

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a tournament that takes place every two years and that pits 12 national teams (three groups of four) from each of the confederation’s three sub-regions: North America (3 automatic entrants), Central America (4.5 qualifiers through the Copa Centroamericana) and the Caribbean (4.5 qualifiers through the Scotiabank CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup).

Mexico holds the record for the most Gold Cup victories with seven titles, while the United States boasts five and Canada has one.

The doubleheader will take place at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, home of the New York Red Bulls. The first game will begin at 7pm EST, and will see French Guiana face off against Canada. Honduras and Costa Rica will play each other in the second game at 9pm. One ticket is valid for both games.

Tickets begin at $30 on Ticketmaster.

BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 21: Andy Najar #14 of Honduras battles for the ball against Juan Diego Madrigal #6 of Costa Rica during the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal game at M&T Bank Stadium on July 21, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)