NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Jamaica Head Coach Theodore Whitmore had nothing but respect for both the United States and Jamaica after a wild night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The match, which included four goals and an 88-minute long lightning delay just 16 minutes into the contest, saw the U.S. win 3-1 to progress to the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Final, where they will face Mexico at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Jamaican Manager expressed his appreciation for the effort of his side.
“I’m definitely proud of the team despite the result,” Whitmore said in his post-match press conference. “After we got back that one goal, we were going with everything for the equalizer. Then that’s when we conceded again. Unfortunately, such is the game.”
Jamaica fell behind early when Weston McKennie struck for the U.S. in the ninth minute. The U.S. looked poised for more, but then came the long delay.
“We didn’t start the game off the way we wanted to,” said Whitmore. “After that break, we went and adjusted some things for the situation. You saw how we went back out. That break helped us.”
Whitmore has been adamant about focusing on the future of Jamaican Football. With the Gold Cup campaign now over (the first time Jamaica didn’t make the final since 2013), Whitmore was asked what’s next for him and the national team.
“We have the Nations League coming up,” the manager said. “We can take a lot of positives from this tournament. It’s now up to us, myself and the technical team to assess our performance in the Gold Cup and move forward.”
