The US Men’s National Team found a late goal to pull even with Ecuador and earn a 1-1 draw in the international break opener. Mauricio Pochettino fielded an XI without Jedi Robinson and Christian Pulisic
and the team put forward a solid performance against a very good Ecuador team. Folarin Balogun stepped up again and scored in his second straight match for the national team. The game showed that the USA can find a way to create chances and goals against defensive minded sides and as far as draws in friendlies go, this one shows promise beyond moral victories buried in the box score.
Now the Americans will face Australia as the team looks to build momentum before rejoining their club teams. Australia has managed to reach the World Cup in every tournament going back to 2006 and was eliminated by Argentina in 2022. In recent years, Australia has invested in its domestic league, however the players in the current squad all ply their trade abroad. While the team is strong it lacks a tailsman it can rely on for playmaking and goals like it had in the days of Tim Cahill. The team reached the tournament finishing second in its group and can be considered good enough to emerge reach the elimination stage this summer. The team relies on pressing and hitting on the counter while its team spirit pushes the team forward to fight for each other against tough opponents.
The switch to a three center back formation has seen improved performances in the win against Japan and draw with Ecuador. Finding success with a formation could not have come soon enough. While Poch wants players to express themselves and play with fluidity, having a reliable shape and defined roles on the pitch makes their jobs much easier. It also lets Poch evaluate who fits better in the roles he has in mind.
As far as who those players are, it will be interesting to see if the manager decides to go with a similar XI, perhaps with Pulisic and Jedi starting, or rotate to have a look at different options. While Balogun has shown that he is the front runner for the no. 9 shirt, if it’s not his at this point anyway, Haji Wright has been in excellent form and could find himself starting. At center back, the back three could use some depth and if Tim Ream makes the World Cup roster, having a solid backup option for the veteran will be important.
For the Americans, the job in the match will be to use better technical ability to move the ball forward, find ways to create chances using width and sending runners into the box and avoiding mistakes. Frankly, the USA is a more talented team than Australia and it needs to show it.
