A Gregg Berhalter masterclass? Maybe… Let’s find out what went right and wrong for the US as we dive deep into the England vs USA 0-0 draw.
Hey everyone - I’m Jake and I am a UEFA C license coach. I love to break down the tactics and strategies in the world of soccer.
The first thing we have to talk about is the shape of both teams because there was a wrinkle in the US that completely caught England off guard and was a huge reason for the success of the US team in this game.
England came out in an unchanged 4-3-3 from their match against Iran and the US while it looked like a 433 on paper were actually playing with a 4-4-2. Timothy Weah was partnered with Haji wright up top and Weston McKennie was playing the RM role while Tyler Adams/Yunus Musah played centrally and Christian Pulisic tucked in the left side.
This formation from the US was really only out of possession which allowed to protect space instead of marking players. I just want to shout out as well that on this channel a few weeks ago I literally talked about this exact thing trying to mirror Leeds’ game against Liverpool.
This was a perfect match up from the US against the 433 of England.
As England tried to build from the back the strikers would squeeze inside and take away the options to Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham, but when they forced England to go wide to their fullbacks we had a midfielder to defend the pass whether that was Weston McKennie or Christian Pulisic. When an English midfielder was available to pick the ball up it was a tight space as Adams and Musah did an excellent job of closing down the dribblers in the middle of the pitch.
Harry Kane struggled to get touches as the US clogged the middle and Zimmerman/Ream were much stronger in the air. This removed a lot of the danger the England possession game posed by removing their biggest threats of ball progression.
Think of the match and if you can recall a positive play of Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, or any of the front 3 for England.
It wasn’t perfect and there were tentative moments throughout the match where slips in concentration let an England attack form.
Sergino Dest was great in defense and stopped Sterling by stepping up and being aggressive on the first touch. Once Jedi Robinson was able to get up and down the field a few times, the England winger Bukayo Saka had to respect the threat that Jedi represented. This also meant that England’s formation started to shift in response to the US.
Since they weren’t meant to be playing with tucked in wingers the formation became lopsided effectively cutting off half of Harry Kane’s support.
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The US in attack stretched back into a 433 with Pulisic taking up a forward position. The best part of all of this was the dynamic ability of both sides of the US field. On the left was a duo of Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic interchanging positions and disorganizing the England defense, while the right side of the US attack stretched the defensive line back with runs from Timothy Weah and individual skill from Sergino Dest.
England didn’t know whether a 1-2 pass was coming, or a direct run in behind and it became apparent the US had taken the initiative. This exact type of patient interplay led to the big chance of the first half where Weston McKennie skied it over from 10 yards out. A difficult ball to control but one that McKennie can do better with.
That same dynamism saw a Pulisic shot off the crossbar and England on the backfoot. It was probably one of the most fun 0-0 halves from a US team in a long time. And let’s talk about some of the macro things happening in this match because despite the result this was one of the best performances from a US team we’ve ever seen.
The system worked a charm but the players were up for this match. If the goal is to change the way the world sees American soccer then this game is a blueprint. When England pressed everyone on the US was clean and confident on the ball including the goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Unless you’ve played before it’s hard to understand how much breaking the press can break the pressing team’s confidence. As the US grew into the game and continued to get dangerous transition moments from breaking the press, it stopped England from stepping so high up the pitch.
England did find spaces against the US when Pulisic was more reluctant to track back leaving Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream in 3v2 situations but the Fulham partnership was up for it.
We do have to say that none of this would be possible without the immense defending of Tim Ream. What a revelation for the US to find a partner for Walker Zimmerman at the exact time it was needed. Tim Ream was everywhere in the defensive third snuffing out attacks and blanketing Harry Kane.
The US do need to improve a few things if they really want to move into the contender category - like a goalscorer that can reliably put the ball in the net, and a consistency of this type of performance, but we’re not far off.
At some points in the match it even seemed like England conceded that we were the better team and were fine walking away with a point.
And yet! The US still needs to win against Iran to get through to the knockouts but this match should make you feel much better about that prospective result on Tuesday.
Great analysis, Jake!
Credit to Berhalter for the game plan, but the players really brought it to life. There were many really good individual efforts (and it's easy to point out Adams and Ream), but I'm glad that you mentioned Dest's defensive work. I can see why he was upset at being subbed out.
Speaking of Ream: It's hard to believe that six months ago Ream probably not even close to making the squad. And, in the last two matches, he's been indispensable.
Lastly: I'm a Celtic fan and a big CCV supporter. At the end of the match, I was watching the players as they went out to the fans and congratulated each other. I didn't see CCV anywhere on the field. I wonder how he's fitting in to the squad. Ream has a yellow, so if he picks up another one I think Long, not CCV, will be his replacement.