USMNT super subs Haji Wright, Gio Reyna help Gregg Berhalter avert crisis under unique circumstances
CBSN
One entered the tournament barely playing and the other not even picked, yet they both showed up when it mattered most
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The U.S. men's national team arrived in Texas with plenty of optimism ahead of their Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. Head coach Gregg Berhalter boasted that the player pool was so deep that he had to make tough choices with his roster selection, and high-profile players like Christian Pulisic were in stellar form for their clubs coming into the match.
Before the first minute of play was over at AT&T Stadium on Thursday, though, that positivity felt like a distant memory.
Jamaica's Greg Leigh scored in the first minute, making the next 90-plus feel like an exercise in potential that was not going to be realized as the USMNT wasted shot after shot while holding more than 80% of the ball. Things finally turned their way in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time when Cory Burke scored an own goal that forced the game to extra time, and then a pair of unlikely heroes stepped up -- substitutes Gio Reyna and Haji Wright.
