USMNTactics: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

On yet another dominant performance for the United States against Australia

Throughout the World Cup, I'll (probably) be breaking down the USMNT with instant reaction articles. We continue today with a 2-0 victory against Australia.

Things don’t necessarily go well when the United States throws its weight around. Failing to break down a low block isn’t the same as a bad, embarrassing outcome in a geopolitical conflict, but you can take the same lesson away. Wanton shows of force rarely turn out unless you’ve got a holistic strategy in mind.

I don’t know if Mauricio Pochettino is reading the newspapers, but his tactics against an organized Australia side showed that kind of nous this afternoon. The USMNT knew when to push forward, but they also knew when to stay structured. In a dominant 2-0 win, that subtle balance made all the difference.

Australia was no pushover. In their opening match against Turkey, the Socceroos put up just nine shots and constantly absorbed pressure in a 2-0 victory. They ended that win with a 17% field tilt, allowing Turkey to complete more than 660 passes while sitting in a 5-4-1 punctuated by the occasional attacking-minded bend up the right side. What Paraguay failed to accomplish against the USMNT, Australia got done against Turkey.

With a hobbled Christian Pulisic unavailable, Pochettino responded in kind to the threat ahead. Rather than replace Pulisic with another right-footed winger and run back last Friday’s winning system, the manager did something brave: start Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi next to one another.

Balogun and Pepi both put up similar involvement numbers for their respective club sides. In 2,200 minutes in Ligue 1, Balogun posted 7.2 box touches but just 1.0 aerial wins per 90 minutes. Pepi, for his part, notched 7.0 box touches but just 1.0 aerial wins per 90 minutes across 1,400 minutes in the Eredivisie. The USMNT was never going to become a lump-it-in crossing team, so pairing two natural No. 9s with a knack for in-box involvement was a logical way of squaring the circle. If one roamed, the other would stay in the 18-yard area.

The challenge for the USMNT was this: find a way to create overloads against what was an innate numerical advantage up the middle for Australia. Manager Tony Popovic’s narrow midfield held a four-on-three edge against Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Malik Tillman (all in white above) in “zone 1” as marked above. Likewise, Pepi and Balogun (red) were outnumbered in “zone 2” by the opposing center back trio.

If the United States wanted to break through, they needed to work outside-in. Suppose a Tim Ream (the left-sided center back in possession, marked in blue above) or Alex Freeman (Ream’s right-sided counterpart) could linger on the ball and force an Australian mid to step up. At that point, a chain reaction of defensive rotations would result.

Nine minutes in, we got a preview of that formula up the right side. There, Freeman forced a step while possessing the ball. When Freeman hit Sergino Dest at the right sideline, it suddenly created an opportunity without immediate help available from the wing of Australia’s bent 5-4-1. In that instance, McKennie slipped into the right seam, helped Dest double up on a rival wingback, and set the table for a give-and-go to create a shot.

It quickly became clear that the left side would be America’s strength – even without Pulisic. If the USMNT could quickly switch the point from right to left and force Australia to bend out, they were in business.

You get a preview of that approach above. Here, Ream has just released a pass that clears Matthew Leckie at the right mid spot for the Socceroos. As such, a drifting Tillman can receive in space, with Pepi and Jedi Robinson helping him out.

Rest assured, this is a good position for the United States. As soon as Tillman turns, he’ll be able to bear down against the right side of the Australian back line in a three-on-two. Still, this is far from a guaranteed chance. The visiting back five is in shape, and bending it won’t be easy even with that odd-man edge.

This moment, by contrast, is better. Here, the United States has quickly worked from side to side again, pinging from Freeman to Chris Richards to Ream in one fell swoop. The result? Leckie steps out once more.

The difference here is that another Australian is drawn forth. Because Robinson takes up a very moderate position at left wingback, he’ll force defender Jacob Italiano – an eager player, the nexus of the Socceroos’ phase-based shape tilting – to step out of the flat back five. Meanwhile, a familiar burst from Tillman occupies a holding mid.

The upswing of all that defense-bending? Suddenly, a swooping Balogun can go one-on-one against a center back.

With Balogun running in and Pepi – seen central – charging at net, the result would be an own goal. In every sense, it was a handsome payoff for Pochettino’s bold choice up top. The advantage grew before halftime, with a driven corner to Sergino Dest on the edge of the box generating a rebound look for Freeman.

Up 2-0, the challenge changed. Australia had moments of aggression early in the match, challenging Ream in particular with aerial service. That targeting heightened as the match wore on. Popovic’s side liked to press backpasses in 5-2-3 mode, pushing Leckie, Mohamed Toure, and Nishan Velupillay into an advanced trio to match the American center backs. Doing so could cause real trouble, and it, too, grew more aggressive late-on.

Throughout the second half, the USMNT still did extraordinarily well at controlling the match in possession. In the final 45 minutes, they outpossessed the Aussies and completed roughly 150 passes. When that on-ball control failed, the counterpressing structure was organized, and Pochettino’s resting “3+1” base tended to hold.

That base could vary; at times, Tyler Adams was the low man helping to maintain steadiness. At other points, Jedi Robinson stayed lower at left back, maintaining a four-man presence.

Here, you’re getting something like a mixed approach. This frame comes a moment after a giveaway by Freeman, who tried to squeeze a pass into the right channel. Australia recovers, but they’re immediately under the gun.

Balogun assaults the ball handler with a closing run from behind. Dest is there, jamming the sideline. Tyler Adams is the most advanced of the center mids, marking the proximate No. 6 on the opposing side; he’ll soon be joined by Tillman off the weak side, completing a full man mark against the double pivot.

The interesting thing? Note the players that are sitting off. Pepi is happy to loom off the ball in case Australia wants to switch the point around their back end. Robinson is low at left back. In the midfield, the obvious route for the Socceroos is to hit a releasing pass up the USMNT’s right sideline, but McKennie anticipates it. He’s operating like a free safety, ready to intervene should Australia fling the ball his way.

There were moments where Popovic’s full-throated 3-4-3 could draw Dest and break a line. Likewise, one or two giveaways among the American defenders created a hint of trouble; a shift into a 3-1-3-3 press helped that cause for Australia. By and large, however, this was a one-sided affair. The inability for the visitors to activate the Italiano-Leckie pair and leverage the patterns we saw against Turkey was marked.

In a week where the other host nations got the job done in emphatic fashion, the United States lived up to the challenge yet again. When this team needed to assert themselves like a juggernaut, they did it. When the moment called for poise, it was there. The USMNT is two-for-two, and the variety of their performances – led by Pochettino’s tactics and personnel decisions – is making it happen.

Odds & Ends

Another match, another victory for the "work shirt and glasses" accessorizing from Mauricio Pochettino.

To the point on the United States' side-to-side movement, I give you the Futi player activity map from the first half. There's a very noticeable rightward bent, yet you still see how good Tillman and Robinson were up the left side. If that ain't a testament to the "big play" potential off the left, I don't know what is.
Gotta stay level-headed when the game is all but decided, and Jedi Robinson grabbing a guy’s kit and neck in garbage time ain’t that. Another good game from him, but it’s something to stay aware of. No shock when he went off for Auston Trusty.
The xG edge for the USMNT against Paraguay? 1.34 to 0.47. Against Australia? 1.31 to 0.44. Consistency is king.
Two saves in two games is the exact level of involvement that Matt Freese will love to see. He had one or two moments of good sweeper-keeping late-on against Australia that deserve a shout.
Lumen Field rocks. That’s the thought.
RFK, Jr. yucks my yum.