Haji Wright was at an airport in England last weekend, ready to depart for Dubai during the international break, when he received a call from U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter. Berhalter asked him to join the American roster as a replacement for the injured Josh Sargent.
“My whole family’s here. My agent’s already there and my girlfriend’s going — she planned the whole thing,’” Berhalter recalled Wright saying.
“I know you got your parents, the bags are packed, and you’re at the airport, but just think about it for 10 minutes and give me a callback,” the coach said.
“He called me back, and he said, `I’m in.’ And when I heard that, it really shows what type of guy he is, what type of character he is,” Berhalter added.
The United States avoided defeat with an own goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, and Haji Wright scored twice in extra time as the Americans came from behind to defeat Jamaica 3-1 Thursday night, advancing to the CONCACAF Nations League final against Mexico.
Greg Leigh scored just 30 seconds into the match for Jamaica, putting the No. 57 Reggae Boyz ahead. The No. 13 Americans were in danger of losing their third consecutive match. However, Wright scored in the sixth and 19th minutes of extra time, securing the U.S. a spot in the Nations League final for the third straight-time on Sunday.
