Brandon Vázquez Wows USMNT Fans as Late Goal Earns Draw vs. Jamaica in 2023 Gold Cup

After claiming their second straight Concacaf Nations League title and sending a clear message to the rest of the confederation, the United States men's national team set out to defend the Gold Cup on Saturday night at Solider Field in Chicago.

Goalkeeper Matt Turner, defender Miles Robinson and winger Alejandro Zendeja were the only players held over from the Nations League roster as players like Jesus Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Aaron Long and DeAndre Yedlin got the call to play in the Gold Cup.

On a night where the Americans seemingly just didn't have the "it" factor, Brandon Vázquez played hero with a late equalizer as the USMNT and Jamaica played to an 1-1 draw in the opening match of the Concacaf Gold Cup and are now tied atop the Group A standings.

After trailing for much of the match, Vázquez finally scored in the 88th minute to tie the game 1-1 and send American fans into a frenzy.

The Americans got out to a rough start on Saturday night and things quickly turned from bad to worse when Jamaica's Damion Lowe scored in the 13th minute to put the Reggae Boyz up 1-0 early.

Long and Matt Miazga were heavily criticized for their defending on the set piece.

Jamaica had the opportunity to take a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute when Aidan Morris caught Kevon Lambert in the chest with his boot in the penalty area. Leon Bailey stepped up to take the penalty, but his poor effort on the scoring chance resulted in a big save by Turner.

The United States turned up the dial following Turner's save, and Long provided the Americans with perhaps their best scoring chance of the first half in the 34th minute on a header that was sent just over the crossbar.

The United States and Jamaica opened the second half with a few exchanged chances, though the Americans had the better of the opportunities and could have walked away with a victory had they played better.

One of the USMNT's best chances came in the 71st minute when Cristian Roldan fired the ball on the net from the penalty area. Jamaica's Andre Blake, a two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, made a brilliant save to keep the Reggae Boyz ahead.

While the USMNT walked away with a draw, it's clear the team collectively needs to be better if it hopes to make a deep run in this tournament.

And although the U.S. earned a draw, American fans on Twitter ripped the team's poor roster selection for the Gold Cup as players like Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah and more are not playing:

Sending second-rate players to the Gold Cup could ultimately cost the United States the chance to win the tournament for the third time since 2017.

The USMNT's quest for the Gold Cup will continue on Wednesday with a match against Saint Kitts and Nevis at 10 p.m. ET. The Americans will end the group stage with a meeting with Trinidad and Tobago on July 2.