U.S. men soccer gets revenge on Jamaica

The United States men’s soccer team moved back into a tie for the lead in their World Cup qualifying group by beating the Reggae Boyz 1-0 Tuesday in Ohio.

Herculez Gomez scored in the 55th minute on a free kick after Clint Dempsey was fouled by Rodolph Austin.

“It was important for us to regroup after what happened in Jamaica,” Gomez said via ESPN. “We knew it wasn’t our best performance and we had to step forward and apply today. With the help of the crowd, we pushed deep and persevered. It wasn’t always pretty, but I think we did it very well.”

The U.S. was still without midfielders Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley to injuries.

The U.S. is tied with Guatemala (2-1-1) with seven points in the North and Central American and Caribbean semifinals of Group A. Jamaica has seven points also (2-1-1) but trails on goal difference.

The top two nations out of the group will advance to next year’s six-team regional finals. Three teams will advance to the 2014 tournament in Brazil.