The scoreline might have gone Germany’s way, but there was a lot to be optimistic with the United States Mens National Teams performance in their 2-1 loss. Despite not winning the game, the US showed a lot of good moments against Germany, holding a lot of possession, winning the ball back aggressively and up the field, limiting Germany’s chances, and creating their own moments at goal. But it was the kind of performance where it is really kinda hard to talk about anything concrete. It was more a vibe
test, a check to see if the US is at the level that they need to be going into the World Cup. And it’s not just me saying that. After the game, Tyler Adams said exactly that:
I don’t think any of these tune up games are about tactics, do you know what I mean? Like, we’ve trained together, we’ve played together, we’ve worked under Mauricio for a year and a half now. Like we understand the tactics. It has to be about the mentality and if we are ready for the moment. And I think today we showed we are ready for the moment. – Tyler Adams
I have to agree with Adams here. This was a game about showing up and being present and competing. And the US very much did that. That said, there is one thing that I wanted to talk about.
This is What the US is Going to Look Like
I think it is pretty clear that we should expect the lineup from this game to be what we see against Paraguay with only a few wrinkles. That lineup looks something like this
Matt Freese (goalkeeper)
Alex Freeman (Centerback) Miles Robinson Chris Richards (Centerback) Tim Ream (Centerback)
Serginio Dest (R. Wingback) Tyler Adams (Midfield) Malik Tillman (Midfield) Antonee Robinson (L. Wingback)
Weston McKennie (Attacking Midfield) Christian Pulisic (Attacking Midfield)
Folarin Balogun (Striker)
The major change is that Richards, if healthy, comes in for M. Robinson. I am not sure if M. Robinson is Pochettino’s preferred backup over Trusty and McKenzie, but I do expect Richards to start if healthy. It is also possible that Ricardo Pepi or Matt Turner starts at striker or goalkeeper, respectively, but I think those are less likely, but also a less impactful difference.
The one thing to note is that Tillman is listed as a holding midfielder rather than as an advanced with, with McKennie taking that advanced role instead. Pochettino actually briefly talked about that in the press conference (the question is in Spanish, but most of the answer is in English).
I am under the belief that it was actually an adjustment during the game, where McKennie swapped from playing alongside Adams to higher up the field, with Tillman dropping deeper. As Pochettino mentions, Tillman has experience there at the club level and it showed with a more stable midfield that was more comfortable in possession after a brief Germany squeeze early in the game. In contrast, McKennie brings energy and dynamism to the press along with a more adventurous and attack minded style. In any case, this McKennie, Adams, Tillman (henceforth, the MAT) midfield brought back a lot of that aggressive physicality and pressure that the team seems to have been missing since the last world cup and the peak days of the MMA midfield.
That’s it from me. The US kicks off against Paraguay on Friday, June 12th at 9:00 pm Eastern time. The World Cup itself starts with Mexico v. South Africa on the 11th (ahem TODAY!!) at 3:00 eastern time.
