Now that we’ve all had some time to process the United States men’s national team’s disappointing loss to Panama in Concacaf Nations League play, it’s time to begin looking forward to Sunday where the USMNT will meet Canada in the third-place game. Taking place at 6 p.m. ET at SoFi stadium on Paramount+ this match will see Jesse Marsch and Mauricio Pochettino clash, but instead of being in the Premier League, it will be on the international stage. While both managers will have preferred for this meeting to be in the final of this competition, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be stern tests for each other.
The Canucks have been steadily improving under Marsch and with neither team taking part in World Cup qualifying due to being host nations in 2026, they have to precious few meaningful games to use to build the squad that they’d like for the tournament. Third place games can sometimes lose their meaning, but with the USMNT and Canada building a budding rivalry, this won’t be one of these cases and it’s also a time for the USMNT to show that the loss to Panama was more of a blip that they can grow from, instead of a continuation of a worrying trend.
When looking at Pochettino’s tactics for that loss, there are a few things that he could look to change for facing Canada so let’s take a look at those.
USMNT player ratings: Tyler Adams solid; Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah not aggressive enough in Panama loss
Chuck Booth
More creativity in midfield
There are a few ways to do this, but to begin with, Weston McKennie can’t be the most creative midfielder on the pitch. The Juventus man can do a lot of different things well, but he’s not a 10 even if he can provide ample defensive pressure from advanced positions in midfield. The match was crying out for someone who could take on a defender by dribbling and with Gio Reyna and Diego Luna in the squad there were options available to Pochettino.
While there’s a chance that he still may not start them in this match, if the USMNT comes out stale against Canada, the Argentine will need to have a quick hook. Christian Pulisic also needs more dribblers around him so that teams can’t collapse without a striker who can create space for themselves on the pitch. It all comes down to balance and with the fullbacks not creating for the USMNT, it was off in attack and never got going.
Max Arfsten
Speaking of balance, an easy way to get some of that back is with a back four including players in their natural positions. Joe Scally was mostly fine as a third center back or left back, but Yunus Musah as a wing back left much to be desired on the creative front. It’s not a knock to Musah, because that’s not his game, but when USMNT systems have relied on fullbacks pushing the pace no matter who the manager is, it would be good to let the fullbacks be fullbacks and trust that the midfield can cover for any mistakes that happen because of that.
With Tyler Adams back, the USMNT has a lot of room for error defensively because with his awareness on the pitch, he has no issues adjusting and filling space when needed. There was a sequence early where Chris Richards lost the ball and in seconds Adams was there to make a defensive intervention to make sure it didn’t end up in a goal. Being guaranteed to have one of the best midfielders on the pitch in any Concacaf match, there’s no need to approach a match in a conservative manner because that allows teams to feel like they are still in the game which is when goals like Panama’s stunning winner can happen.
The USMNT has to come out of the gate quickly and force errors from their opposition before they can settle into a match. It’s easy to forget how much ground Adams can cover because of how long he has been in and out with injuries over the past few years, but with him back and healthy, it’s a good chance for the USMNT to use his strengths to up the tempo in attack.
Passion
Like many managers before him, Pochetitno expressed a need for the players to play for the badge. From being the stronger team going into tackles to not being afraid to take shots that aren’t from perfect positions, this is supposed to be one of the best teams in Concacaf and they need to play with a swagger like they are. The USMNT’s confidence has taken a hit after flopping out of Copa America and struggling in recent matches, but they need to regain that ahead of a World Cup on home soil. Teams don’t need additional motivation to play the USMNT, so they need to come in unafraid to protect their home stadiums and the badge on their shirt.
This is an issue that managers before Pochettino have had as well so it’s not a new problem that the USMNT is dealing with but it’s one that they also can’t afford to keep seeing happen with the World Cup inching closer by the day.
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