(Clevis Murray, The Tennessean, 07.05.19)

NASHVILLE — The U.S. men’s national soccer team defeated Jamaica 3-1 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal Wednesday night at Nissan Stadium.

The U.S. will play Mexico on July 7 at 8 p.m. at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Here’s what we learned:

Pulisic as good as advertised

Midfielder Christian Pulisic led the way for the U.S., scoring two of the team’s three goals.

His first goal was the 900th goal all-time in Gold Cup history. After both goals the U.S. crowd serenaded him with chants of his last name.

He is now tied for second in the tournament with five total goals, along with Mexico’s Raul Jimenez and Canada’s Lucas Cavallini.

Pulisic, 20, is also a midfielder with Chelsea FC.

The rising star spent time postgame to treat fans by taking selfies with them.

In November 2018, he became the youngest United State captain ever when the team had a friendly against Italy.

Delays can create moments

There was a lightning delay 15 minutes into the game, which lasted over an hour. Fans found ways to keep themselves entertained, which included doing the wave.

As the delay continued, two fans took the opportunity to run onto the field. One was tackled from behind, while the other surrendered once he saw security arrive.

U.S. didn’t back down

Throughout the tournament the U.S. had abstained from forcing referees to use their cards. Against Jamaica, the U.S. drew two yellow cards. In comparison, Jamaica had three yellow cards, tying for third with Mexico with nine throughout the tournament. It was the first card drawn against the U.S. since June 22 against Trinidad and Tobago.

The U.S. showed they didn’t back down against Jamaica’s aggressive and physical play.

Nashville’s fans prove loyal

The announced attendance for the semifinal match Wednesday night was 28,473, a number drastically lower than the 2018 match between the U.S. and Mexico.

Also, the number was far off from the state soccer record of 56,232 set in 2017 for a friendly between Manchester City and Tottenham, also played at Nissan Stadium.

When play did resume after the delay of more than an hour, a majority of the crowd stayed through it and remained at the stadium until the end of the game.

Nashville is one of 17 U.S. cities in contention to host World Cup matches in 2026.