The Blueprint of USA at the World Cup
A tactical breakdown of Iran vs USA in the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The US has now only given up one goal in the World Cup so far and 0 from open play. The defense has been so solid but it’s actually because of the midfield trio. Let’s break down how the US was able to prevail over Iran with their wide play and what they did to lock down their own net.
What’s up everyone?! My name is Jake and this is It’s Called Soccer. I’m a UEFA C Licensed coach and I love to break down the tactics of world soccer. Here’s how this is gonna go…
Talk about the initial formations and changes to the starting XI at CB.
A deeper dive of the Pulisic goal and why that was coming the entire first half
A tactical analysis of what the US does to cover their defense with their midfield
We should also mention the substitutes and what I would have done with hindsight
By the end of this you’ll be able to see how everything works together in a way that creates the foundational stability for this team. The tactics aren’t just complimentary, they are more like an intricate piece of machinery working cohesively. Let’s talk about how.
USA 442/433 vs Iran 4411
We kept the 442 in defense that worked so well against England but this time it was Yunus Musah moonlighting as a RM for this match against Iran.This matched Iran’s midfield numbers and still allowed us to play a wide 433 with the ball. The posessional 433 helped get the ball into the wide areas and pull Iran from their box.
Changing Cameron Carter-Vickers for Zimmerman gave us a player who is used to breaking down defenses with Celtic and has excellent recovery speed. Out of all the starting XI from the first two matches Zimmerman was probably one of the few you could make an argument against.
Iran sat in a mid-block with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, 2 forwards with one of them playing deeper (Taremi). Iran’s goal was to stabilize their backline and leave them with counterattacking chances up top. While they were looking for set pieces and counters, they were not sitting extraordinarily deep in their half.
In Possession
The very specific way we use the 433 in possession is the reason for the Pulisic goal and the same exact situation happened over and over again throughout the first half.
Gregg has set up his team with the thought that our fullbacks are some of our best offensive weapons. You will see throughout our possessions that we invert our fullbacks and midfielders to push our dangerous attackers high but stabilize our defence with Adams, McKennie, and Musah.
13:29 - Tyler Adams moves into the RB spot and sends Sergino Dest further up. Past Musah. As the Iran defense moves over to cover the space Dest is now taking up, Sargent is behind.
This is what I mean by the whole tactical approach being an intricate machine where the parts fit together. We’re using all of our offensive weapons in the safest way possible.
15:40 - Jedi is further up the pitch than Christian Pulisic. This is not uncommon for a US team where the fullbacks are further up than the forwards.
16:00 The spaces the US attacked were in the wide areas. Getting fullbacks or midfielders to the byline and go across the net while Iran is spreading out to defend the ball.
17:50 - Another moment of getting it out wide and cycling in.
22:15 another example of wide play
37:45 GOAL - We started the play by stretching the field with Jedi. The ball is recycled back to McKennie who switches to Dest who then goes back across. That is the culmination of everything we just discussed. Fullbacks are high and wide to move Iran into space, we stretch the back 4 thin, and get a ball across the back line. Boom. Goal.
Jedi being high and wide takes away the player that should have been defending the back-post where Pulisic scores, but instead Iran is forced to track Pulisic with a midfielder and CB.
Out of possession
When the US lost the ball and Iran was trying to counter, we always left the midfielder to cover the space left by the FB. This allowed the US to always have at worst 3 defenders for two of Iran’s attackers.
13:58 Dest is in the middle of the pitch when we lose the ball and Musah has now been tasked with covering the space.
Iran’s best moment in the first half came from a break where the US midfield did not pressure the ball and Iran had a man in behind. Thankfully it didn’t amount to much and Tim Ream eventually cleared the danger.
19:30 - When Iran is in possession they can only go long. If the US midfield doesn’t have enough pressure on the ball the Iran found their best chances.
Look at average positions for both teams and it all makes more sense. Iran is a loaded spring ready to counter. For the US you can see how Jedi was as far forward as McKennie and Dest was further up than Musah.
This pass map is a great representation of how Josh Sargent was integral to the match plan as a hold up forward. Haji’s pass map against England was basically blank - meaning he was not seen as an outlet for the rest of the squad.
Second half
In the second half Iran stayed in shape for the most part to try and sneak a goal back. We needed to dig deep and suffer to keep them out.
The game got a little chaotic after we were able to control the first 15 or so minutes of but then things took a turn. At some points the gamestate takes over to create what both teams look like. A goal down and needing a draw, Iran naturally pushed up and started to turn up the heat. For Gregg Berhalter and the US with their star player and goalscorer headed to the hospital, GGG decided to pack it in and play for the 1-0 win which would see them through to the knockouts.
To me the substitutes were a little too negative and it has been a consistent question throughout the World Cup for Gregg Berhalter. Especially with hindsight it’s hard to see how Haji Wright was a better option than Ferreira or Reyna, or that Shaq Moore was a better option than Deandre Yedlin or Joe Scally. I understand the Kellyn Acosta sub as we needed fresh legs in the midfield and we added a set-piece specialist. Haji Wright could have killed the game by taking the ball to the corner instead of a weak shot to give Iran the ball but is that Gregg’s fault? Well… kind of for putting them in the game.
Aaronson for Pulisic was a necessity, Acosta for McKennie was okay given the state of the game, but the last 3 were pure desperation to blunt Iran’s attack. Zimmerman was the only one that showed why he was an important piece of that plan.
Overall it was an A+ first half from Gregg and a C second half… pretty standard for what we expect as US fans since we’ve seen it time and time again. However, this one comes with a huge caveat which is that we got the win and advanced to the knockout rounds with our youngest starting XI in a World Cup. If you had told me the US would advance but Shaq Moore would get more minutes than Gio Reyna I would have taken the deal a million times.
Jake, really nice analysis and display.