For the past couple of seasons, many teams looking to dominate the ball have done so in a rigid manner.
A very common shape in possession has been the 3-2-2-3 set-up, with a box in midfield – teams such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal have moved a full-back into midfield to achieve this.
In this World Cup, teams have been willing to reimagine that strict structure, taking a more fluid approach on the ball and one of the best examples has been Mauricio Pochettino’s USA.
Here we analyse the shape, movement and intention behind their unique approach as they look to continue their fine start to the World Cup when they face Australia in Group D on Friday (20:00 BST).
There was a difficulty in pinpointing the formation USA used in their impressive 4-1 win against Paraguay last Saturday.
On paper, you could argue it was a 4-2-3-1 shape with Sergino Dest as the right winger.
When USA got on the ball, however, it looked more like a three at the back – a fairly common tactic.
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